


Burned But Not Buried

by ErinHoltzmann



Category: Florence + the Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Oral Sex, Spells & Enchantments, Vaginal Fingering, Witch Hunters, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-04-29 04:45:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 59,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5116127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinHoltzmann/pseuds/ErinHoltzmann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isabella Summers is a witch hunter who has to hunt down a witch who abducts young women. Finding herself in a strange city, she quickly has to realise that this mission isn’t as straightforward as it seemed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter of a (hopefully) long fanfic about Isa as a witch hunter and Florence as the witch she has to hunt. I have a rough plan where I'm going with this, and I can already promise that this will be painful (but there might be a happy ending, after a fair amount of angst and suffering).

There were many theories on how to best kill a witch: drowning, hanging, burning at the stake. But over the years Isabella had learned that there was nothing better than a good, old-fashioned shot through the head. The other methods weren’t safe enough. A witch could escape drowning, hanging, and burning at the stake with one spell or another. But Isabella had yet to meet the witch who could stop a well-aimed bullet.

Through this idiot-proof method, Isabella had become the best witch hunter of her generation. Admired by many, Isabella always kept to herself, which added to her air of elusiveness. People even tried to copy her sometimes. Isabella noticed this whenever she met other witch hunters. Some of the women dressed like her, some of the men talked with her about guns in the hope she would reveal the secret to her success. It was no secret that Isabella preferred guns as opposed to traditional, yet old-fashioned, methods. But her colleagues who had also turned to this technique weren’t as successful as she was, simply because Isabella was the best shot in the Guild.

Isabella didn’t mind going to Guild meetings, she didn’t mind the curious questions she had to answer all evening long, but she hated listening to the stories of the other members. Their work wasn’t a pretty one; necessary, but not something to brag about. Ending a life was nothing to take pride in. Some of the others did, however, and listening to their cruel stories made Isabella feel sick.

This meeting, however, Isabella was lucky because the Guild Leader wanted to meet with her in her office, which would spare her from having to talk to her colleagues.

Isabella liked the Guild Leader. She was a woman in her early forties, about ten years Isabella’s senior. They had once worked together and Isabella had come to respect her for her calm attitude in the face of danger. The respect was mutual.

“Miss Summers,” she was greeted. “Isabella.”

“Hello, Laura.” Isabella shook the hand which was extended to her.

“Please, sit.” Laura pointed to a comfortable couch.

Isabella did.

“I’m sorry to take you away from such pleasant conversation,” Laura teased her, knowing full well that Isabella couldn’t stand it.

Isabella smiled at her. “I missed your stories, though,” she told Laura. She didn’t even have to lie. Laura’s stories were hardly ever as disrespectful as the ones the others told. “I wish you could have joined us.”

“Oh no, I was busy planning your next mission,” Laura explained. “I’m sorry you had to go without my company. I’m gonna make it up to you, though.”

“That’s good to hear.” Isabella winked at Laura.

Laura cleared her throat. “Anyway,” she went on, “I have a new mission for you and you are going to like this one. I’m sending you abroad.”

“Oh, where to?” Isabella wanted to know.

“To Italy,” Laura announced.

Isabella nodded in approval.

“Yes, apparently they have a problem with one witch or several witches,” Laura went on. “Our client wasn’t sure himself.”

“And why does he need us? I thought Italy was one of the leading witch hunting nations.”

“But you’re better,” Laura stated as a simple fact. “No, but seriously. They have bitten off more than they can chew with this one and that’s why they’ve asked for help. This is why I’m sending them my best hunter.”

Isabella blushed at Laura’s compliments, something which didn’t happen often.

“And since I know that you don’t like working in a team, I’m not sending anyone with you,” Laura continued. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen in Italy though, and if they’ll force you to work with others.”

Isabella shrugged. “I’ll manage.”

“I know you will.” Laura smiled at her proudly. “But enough with the niceties.”

Laura reached for a folder which was stuffed in between her leg and the armrest of the sofa. What was about to follow was Isabella’s favourite part. Laura would now go over everything she knew concerning her new mission, and Isabella always felt like she was in a spy film when Laura did that.

Laura opened the folder and handed Isabella a grainy photograph first. It looked like the pictures of Big Foot or Nessie Isabella had seen. Impossible to make out any details, all Isabella could identify was a being which could either have been a man or a woman, dressed in either a coat or a dress. The person was looking out from between a tree and a bush, the eyes eerily illuminated by the flash. Isabella was reminded of a deer or a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car.

“This is the only photo we have of the witch,” Laura explained, “or of the witches, anyway.”

“It’s not much, is it?” Isabella pointed out.

“You’ve been successful with less,” Laura shrugged.

“Fair enough,” Isabella conceded.

“Here.” Laura handed her a plane ticket next. “Take good care of this.”

Isabella read that she would be going to Florence tomorrow.

“Okay, and here’s the rest.” Isabella received a single sheet with a few lines on it.

“This witch or these witches have been terrorising Florence, taking girls and young women into the forest to do god knows what with them. Understandably, the people there want this situation resolved and this is where you come in, to free the girls and to make sure that this won’t happen again. If you manage to catch someone who is responsible, the townspeople would like to see them punished. It’s best if you just hand them over for punishment, I’d say.”

Isabella nodded. “Sure, will do.”

“Well, then that’s it on my part,” Laura finished. “Any questions?”

Isabella shook her head. “Nope, I think this mission is pretty straightforward.”

“Good, good.” Laura handed Isabella the empty folder so she could put in all the papers she had handed her earlier. “I’d love to invite you for a drink, but your plane leaves early tomorrow morning, so you should probably go to bed.”

“Yes, I should,” Isabella agreed, “although I’d much rather have a drink with you.”

Laura smiled at her, but then her expression turned serious. She put a hand on Isabella’s knee and said, “You have to promise me to be careful.”

Isabella covered Laura’s hand with her own. “Don’t worry about me, Laura. I’ll be fine.”

*

Isabella loved flying in the morning. She didn’t even mind getting up early, since she never slept anyway. And since she was flying to the east, she could see a lovely sunrise. Normally, she reserved the journeys for memorising the mission folder, but this time it took her about three minutes to learn it by heart. The rest of the flight she thumbed through a guidebook on Florence.

Isabella had never been to Florence, and even though this was supposed to be a business trip, Isabella was also looking forward to seeing the city. It was true that Isabella preferred working and travelling on her own, but she wouldn’t have minded Laura coming with her.

Isabella liked Laura. A lot. She admired her professionalism and how she had managed to become the Guild Leader at such a young age. Being a bit over 40 and the leader was incredible. Isabella was also interested in other aspects of Laura. She had had a small crush on her ever since she had started working for the Guild. It wasn’t as if this crush was soul-consuming and distracted her from her day-to-day life, but she would have liked to learn more about Laura and get to know her on a more personal level. She was pretty certain that her crush was mutual. Sadly, both of them had yet to find the time to make a move. Isabella was thinking about getting Laura a present from Florence as a first step into the right direction.

When Isabella had to change planes in Rome (there were almost no direct flights from London to Florence), Isabella was astonished by just how obsessed the Italians were with witch hunting. She spotted books on witch hunting, miniature stakes you could actually light, and collections of miniature weapons in the souvenir shop. Most of the things were cheap imitations, but it opened Isabella’s eyes to the current state of affairs in Italy.

The plane to Florence was filled with Italians. Most of the tourists stayed in Rome, avoiding more rural areas out of fear of the witches.

Florence this time of year was hot and humid and Isabella had difficulties breathing the minute she stepped off the plane. She would have more trouble sleeping here than she usually had. But when she arrived at the hotel she doubted she would want to sleep anyway. Laura had spared no expense. The hotel had its own tennis court and its own pool and you could get complementary massages. Isabella asked herself if Laura had had an ulterior motive when she had booked this hotel. Again, Isabella wished Laura could be here with her.

Isabella had to remind herself to be professional. She went up to her room to drop off her bags and then went out into the city. One of the first things Isabella always did was to go out and have a look around to assess the situation.

Florence was less of a tourist trap than Rome had been when it came to witch hunting. Instead, when weapons were sold, they were real and deadly and Isabella walked past stakes, some of which had already been burned down.  The people she met regarded her with suspicion and Isabella couldn’t blame them.

Isabella sat down in a little café. Soon, she regretted not being able to speak Italian. The people around her spoke in low whispers and glanced at her out of the corner of their eyes. Isabella felt unsafe and quickly paid for her coffee. She crept back to her hotel, keeping close to the exterior walls of the houses along the way.

*

The next day, it was raining. Isabella went down to breakfast, determined to find one of the locals who would answer her a few questions. She found a willing waiter, at whom she smiled a couple of times and acted the dumb tourist girl. After a few general questions, they turned to the subject of witches.

“There aren’t many people around, are there?” Isabella remarked casually.

“It’s because of those damn witches,” the waiter spat.

“I know,” Isabella nodded.

“They keep all the tourists away,” the waiter complained. “And with this new one, especially.”

“New one?” Isabella feigned ignorance.

“Yes, there’s a new witch in town who keeps stealing our girls,” he explained. “My little cousin was taken just last week.”

“How did that happen?” Isabella felt sorry for the man, but she was also glad to have found someone who had experienced the terror of the witch first-hand.

“I don’t know. My mother only told me that she was on her way to a friend and never arrived there.”

“And why are you so sure it was the witch and not someone else?”

“Because she tells you,” he whispered, as if he didn’t dare to say it out loud. “She leaves all sorts of herbs and leaves on the doorstep of your house.”

“But why?”

“I have no idea,” the waiter shrugged. “Some weird form of payment, I guess.”

“But at least you know what has happened to her,” Isabella offered consolation.

“No, we don’t,” the waiter contradicted her. “We have no idea what she is doing with them. At least, if a man had taken her … but this, we have no idea what to do with this. All I know is I’m gonna break that witch’s neck if I ever catch her.”

“Have many girls gone missing?” Isabella asked.

“Around 20.”

“20?” she echoed. “And no lead?”

“We’ve raided the forest twice but without much success.” We caught one witch and she pretended to be one of our girls to escape the stake. We didn’t fall for it, of course.”

*

That afternoon, Isabella was meeting with the leader of the witch hunters in Florence. She was excited to finally get started. The case was singular in her career and she was eager to deliver results. Finding those poor girls was her top priority now.

The witch hunters’ headquarter reminded Isabella of a museum. Various weapons and instruments of tortures were displayed in glass cases and the whole building had a stuffy atmosphere despite being relatively new architecturally. Isabella was greeted by a man named Roberto who was the leader on this witch hunt. He was also the one who had contacted Laura and had asked her for her help. Isabella could feel in the way he acted towards her that he was not happy with the arrangement. After all, Italy was known as the leading nation when it came to witch hunting. Now they had to get help elsewhere because they were unable to deal with their own problems.

“Miss Summers, I trust you had a pleasant journey,” Roberto greeted her.

“I had.”

“You will be pleased to hear that we have made some progress today,” Roberto old her proudly.

“That’s good to hear,” Isabella said earnestly.

“There’s a briefing in a couple of minutes if you want to come along.” Roberto pointed to a door.

“Yes, I would like that,” Isabella confirmed.

The meeting wasn’t as exciting as Isabella had expected. The progress they had made was indeed astonishing. They had found a small village in the forest where several of the witches seemed to live. The briefing was for everyone who would participate in a raid on said village. To Isabella’s anger, she wasn’t invited.

“I’m sorry we can’t take you with us,” Roberto told her, “but the team is like a clockwork and you’re the grain of dust which could throw it off-balance.”

Isabella thought this statement were unnecessarily poetic and it made her want to protest. “And what exactly did you bring me here for, all the way from London?”

“We do need your help, don’t get me wrong,” Roberto tried to appease her, “just not on this mission. I’m sure you’ll understand.”

“Frankly, I don’t,” Isabella told him honestly, “but it’s your mission, so there’s really nothing I can do.”

“But don’t worry, there’s lots for you to do here. We mostly need you to help us kill the witches, anyway.”

“And how am I supposed to do that from here?” Isabella wanted to know.

“Well, we’re going to catch them and bring them here and then you will tell us the slowest and most painful way to kill them.”

Isabella felt a bit disappointed and betrayed. So they hadn’t hired her for her skills as a hunter but for her skills as a killer, the thing she was least proud of.

“This is not what I was told,” she stated. “I was told you needed my help as a hunter.”

“Oh no, we’re quite good at hunting ourselves,” Roberto declined, “but we heard you were excellent at killing.”

“No, I’m not,” Isa contradicted him, “I just use guns where others use knives or fire. If anything, my methods are quicker than the others.”

Roberto looked disappointed. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be useful somehow,” he shrugged.

“I can be useful if you let me come with you,” Isabella pointed out.

“No, thank you; not today, anyway.”

“All right, then please tell me what I should do,” Isabella challenged.

“There’s nothing more you can do today, actually,” Roberto told her. “Why don’t you go home and relax?”

Isabella had to realise that there was nothing more she could do, she left the headquarters without having accomplished anything. She didn’t let this put her into a bad mood. There was lots she could do on her own, so she decided to find families which had reported girls going missing, so she could build on what the waiter had told her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella starts to investigate the kidnappings and makes some interesting findings. Eventually, Roberto takes her to the forest and she experiences its powers first-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I am mostly writing this at work, I have to write it by hand. I have some chapters finished, but I need to type them out as well, so I've decided to update this fanfic every Saturday.

**_Name:_ ** _Giulia (16)_

**_Date gone missing:_ ** _6 June_

**_How:_ ** _went on a trip with her school to the forest, strayed away from the group, never returned to the teacher_

**_Name:_ ** _Chiara (17)_

**_Date gone missing:_ ** _2 July_

**_How:_ ** _taken from her bed in the middle of the night; her father noticed the next day when he came in to wake her and her bed was empty and the window was open_

**_Name:_ ** _Martina (19)_

**_Date gone missing:_ ** _10 July_

**_How:_ ** _wanted to cycle to her grandmother in the country; her bike was found two days later at the edge of the forest_

**_Name:_ ** _Francesca (20)_

**_Date gone missing:_ ** _23 July_

**_How:_ ** _went to a party in a club, her friends reported that she was talking to a woman in her 20s, she left the club with her, telling her friends she would see them tomorrow and never appeared again_

**_Name:_ ** _Silvia (18)_

**_Date gone missing:_ ** _3 August_

**_How:_ ** _was home alone, her parents returned to an empty flat, no sign of forced entry_

*

Isabella had gone around, knocking on people’s doors, and had shown them her witch hunter badge. Many people had been thankful that she had listened to them. In the course of an afternoon, she had gotten the names and background stories of five different girls. However, many more had gone missing.

In the evening, she returned to her hotel room, feeling like she had accomplished something. At least, she had a profile for the missing girls. Interestingly, some of them had gone willingly with their kidnapper.

Despite having been on her feet all day, Isabella couldn’t fall asleep and then she was woken by the sound of her bedside phone.

“Miss Summers?” she heard Roberto’s voice after a sleepily muttered, “yeah”. “You should probably come down here.”

“What’s the time?” Isabella asked, confused.

“Five in the morning,” Roberto told her, an edge of impatience to his voice.

“What’s the matter?” Isabella was already halfway out of bed.

“The raid wasn’t as successful as we had expected and we could really use a hand down here.”

“I’m coming,” Isabella told him.

She hung up and got dressed quickly. This hadn’t come as unexpectedly to her as to Roberto. Attacking a village full of women who were able to use magic in the middle of the night probably wasn’t the best idea.

When Isabella arrived at the headquarters, she learned that this hadn’t been the reason why the mission had been unsuccessful. The group hadn’t even gotten as far as the village before they had been trapped and thrown off-track by several spells. Some of the men had come back wounded and were now lying around the office moaning and complaining about their cuts and bruises.

“It was like a nightmare,” Roberto told her in a dramatic whisper. “We all thought we were going to die.”

“From the look of it, the spells are only there to keep intruders out.” Isabella petted Roberto’s arm. “They are meant to scare, not hurt seriously.”

“Is there anything we can do against them?”

“Not really,” Isabella shrugged. “The only thing we can do is be prepared for what is expecting us, and search for weak spots.”

“We’ve never had to deal with something like this before.” Roberto shuddered.

“It’s not very common,” Isabella told him. “I’ve had to deal with it once before. It only ever occurs when there is a large group of witches living together because it takes a lot of energy to keep up such strong spells.”

“How did you defeat them?” Roberto wanted to know.

“I didn’t,” Isabella admitted. “It was probably the only failed mission of my career.”

Roberto let his head fall into his hands. “And what shall we do now? We can’t let them keep taking our girls,” he groaned.

“There, there,” Isabella tried to soothe him. “I’m here now, and I promise, we will get them back. I’d suggest that you get a few hours of rest and later, when it’s day outside, you can take me to the forest and show me where you were attacked, and we can figure something out together.”

Roberto nodded slowly. “All right, let’s do that.”

*

Isabella was too awake to go back to sleep, so she bought a cup of takeaway coffee and wandered around the city, watching it wake up. The people who were on the street side-eyed her and hurried past quickly. Isabella was used to this behaviour by now.

Roberto called her sooner than she had expected. He told her he couldn’t sleep and would prefer to show her the forest right now. Isabella agreed, and Roberto described to her the way to his house, so they could take his car.

Isabella found the way quickly (one of her many talents was an excellent sense of direction). She was surprised when she saw that Roberto lived in a normal house with a wife. Isabella had never managed to start a family, and she admired anyone in her profession who did. It must be nice to come home to a loving wife. At the moment, Isabella came home to an empty flat, if she came home at all.

Roberto drove a very old car and kept apologising for it and Isabella couldn’t understand why. She had told him she loved old cars, but he only blushed and didn’t say anything until they were out of the city.

“I hope you don’t mind walking,” he told her. “We’re going to have to leave the car a few minutes away from the forest. I’m not trusting my car anywhere near that place.”

“Yes, no problem,” Isabella nodded.

They drove past fields and one or two little villages. The sun was shining today and Isabella felt like she was driving through a holiday ad for Tuscany. It was also strange how long they had to drive to get to this forest.

“Have any girls from one of the villages gone missing?” Isabella asked after some time.

“No, they haven’t,” Roberto shook his head, “which makes the whole affair even more strange.”

“What about other cities?”

“As far as I know, this is only happening in Florence so far.” Roberto pulled over at the side of the road. “And I don’t wish anyone to go through what we are going through.”

They had stopped on a small rise. Once Isabella had gotten out of the car, she could see the forest below. It wasn’t as she had expected it. The forest was gigantic. Isabella couldn’t see where it ended. It also looked more ancient than anything she had ever seen.

“How -?” she breathed.

“That’s another mystery,” Roberto said with a pained expression. “Forests of this size aren’t supposed to exist in the middle of Italy. But it has been here forever, or so how it feels.”

Isabella shuddered. Even from up here she could tell that every fibre of the forest was magic. With every step she took, she was more and more certain that she was in over her head.

“Shall we?” Roberto asked. He looked as if he’d much rather be anywhere else than here.

They walked down the hill through a meadow. From down here, the forest looked even more intimidating. Isabella admired the witch hunters who had dared to enter the forest in the middle of the night.

“We found an entrance next to this stone,” Roberto pointed to a boulder, “but it’s gone now.” He didn’t even sound surprised.

“That’s not unusual,” Isabella said. “They don’t want to make it too easy for us now, do they.”

Isabella stepped closer to the trees and regarded them thoughtfully. The leaves rustled and he low-hanging branches moved and retreated until there was an entrance in front of them.

“It’s almost as if it wants us to enter,” Isabella smirked.

She took the lead and Roberto told her as best as he could where she should go. All he could tell her was the cardinal direction, so they would get to the spot where Roberto and his men had been attacked by the spells.

Isabella was astonished that it was much easier to navigate the forest than it had looked from the outside. The path was wide and no roots or stones lay in the way. Roberto, however, was stumbling along behind her as if his feet refused to walk into that direction.

Roberto gripped Isabella’s arm suddenly. “Can you smell that?” he hissed.

Isabella sniffed the air but couldn’t smell anything.

“It smells of fire,” Roberto told her. “That’s how it started last night.”

“I can’t smell anything,” Isabella said, sniffing the air again.

“How can you not smell that?” Roberto had an edge of panic to his voice. “It’s as if you’re breathing in the smoke.”

“No, I’m sorry, I can’t smell it.” Isabella was positive that her own senses weren’t failing her. Roberto must be imagining it. “Last night, could everyone smell it?”

“Yes, yes,” Roberto nodded urgently.

“It might be the spell,” Isabella thought out loud, “a warning, you know. Animals flee when they can smell smoke.”

“And why can’t you smell it then?” Roberto wanted to know.

“I don’t know,” Isabella shrugged. “Let’s continue, shall we?”

Roberto glanced at her distrustingly. “I’d be careful from now on. There are more curses ahead.”

Isabella strode onwards, Roberto in tow. Roberto started to cough soon after their conversation, as if real smoke was filling his lungs. The air Isabella breathed was still clear. The longer they walked through the forest, the more Isabella enjoyed it. She wouldn’t mind staying here for longer.

“Miss Summers,” Roberto shouted suddenly.

Isabella whirled around. Roberto was frozen in the middle of the path, his arms outstretched as if he was trying to fend off something.

“What is it?” Isabella asked concerned.

“Don’t you see it?” Roberto shouted in panic. “How can you not see it?”

“What? What am I not seeing?”

“The wolf!” Roberto drew a gun.

“There is no wolf,” Isabella told him. “It’s an illusion, a spell.”

“It looks damn real to me,” Roberto shouted. He moved back further. “No!” He fired his gun and the bullet went straight into the ground.

“Stop it!” Isabella shouted.

Roberto looked at her for a second or two and while he did, Isabella could see something tear at the fabric of his trousers. He started to scream and Isabella rushed to his side.

“Get it off me!” he shouted.

“I don’t know how,” Isabella returned, gripping Roberto’s shoulder. “I can’t see it.”

Roberto kicked the air with his free leg and the already torn fabric came finally loose and hovered in the air in front of them.

“Okay, I can see that,” Isabella admitted.

Roberto fired his gun again and the piece of fabric fell to the ground.

“Did you kill it?” Isabella asked.

“Yes, yes,” Roberto confirmed, catching his breath. “How could you not see it?”

“For some reason, the spells don’t seem to work on me,” Isabella mumbled.

“Or you’re not as good a hunter as you thought you were,” Roberto pointed out.

“Or your fear is in your way,” Isabella shot back. “I mean, I can go on alone if the spells affect you this much.”

“No,” Roberto declined. “The curses are getting stronger and more dangerous. We must be getting close.”

Isabella decided it was best to let him do what he thought was right. But considering what had happened so far, the next spell would definitely push him over the edge. Sooner rather than later Isabella would have to continue on her own anyway.

This time, Roberto took the lead, a look of determination on his face. Isabella followed, her eyes wandering around, always on guard. Roberto had been attacked by two spells so far, she by none. If anything, the forest had helped her.

Sure enough, Roberto froze in his tracks and exclaimed, “Marta?!”

“What is it?” Isabella asked for what felt like the tenth time today. Again, she couldn’t see anything.

Roberto ignored her. “How did you get here?” he asked the air next to a tree.

“What do you see?” Isabella stepped in front of Roberto and looked him straight in the eye, but Roberto pushed her aside.

“Not now, Miss Summers, I’m in the middle of a conversation.”

“There’s no one there,” Isabella insisted.

Despite her tone of voice, she wasn’t so sure herself now. She hadn’t seen the wolf, but the wolf had almost torn Roberto’s leg off.

“Don’t act like you can’t see her,” Roberto hissed.

“No, I’m sick of this.” Isabella gripped his arm. “Stop using pronouns and making me guess. We have established by now that you can see things and I can’t. Just tell me what you see.”

“My wife, Marta,” Roberto told her, seeing the error of his ways. “And you’re right, it has to be a curse. She’s not supposed to be here.”

“No, she isn’t. Let’s just go.” Isabella tugged at the sleeve of Roberto’s shirt, but he wouldn’t move.

“What?” He turned back to the tree. And then, “She just told me she has brought our daughter here to give her to the witches.”

“It’s not real,” Isabella repeated, doubting her own words.

But Roberto didn’t listen to her, he had started to shout at his wife.

“Stop it,” Isabella implored him. “It’s a spell, stop.”

Roberto didn’t react to her words but continued to shout at thin air. Isabella tried to push him back, but she was much smaller than he was and he was apparently very strong when he was angry.

“You know what,” Isabella snapped, “I’m just gonna go on my own. You can join me once you’ve calmed down.”

It wasn’t considered best practice to leave behind your partner in a dangerous situation, but Isabella was fed up with Roberto. That was the reason why she preferred working on her own. Roberto was slowing her down and had fulfilled his usefulness. He had shown her where the spells had attacked him and his people. From here on, Isabella could continue on her own.

Isabella couldn’t help herself, but she still thought the forest was nice. For Roberto it must be a hellish experience. However, Isabella was well aware that with Roberto gone she would be the target of the spells.

She continued walking along a pleasant path next to a little brook, birds singing around her, when she finally heard something and she prepared for a spell to hit her. But all she heard were voices and none of them sounded familiar. Isabella slowed down and moved to the side of the path, so she could easily hide behind trees.

When Isabella came closer, it quickly became clear that she had found the witch’s hideout. The first thing she saw was a small house, no bigger than a simple cottage. A woman sat outside on a footstool and was knitting. She was fairly young, but Isabella didn’t recognise her as one of the kidnapped girls. Maybe, she thought, she was one of the others who had been taken.

Isabella crept on, careful not to make a sound to disturb her. Next, Isabella saw a group of younger girls playing ball. She recognised one of them as Giulia. So she had finally found them. Isabella couldn’t help but feel proud of herself for having accomplished something on her own where a large group of trained witch hunters had failed.

Isabella moved on and a larger house came into view. It reminded her of an old Tuscan villa which looked out of place in this forest. All doors and windows were open and at least twenty more girls and women were gathered outside.

For the first time since she had stumbled upon this place, Isabella paused thoughtfully. None of the women looked as if they were forced to be here. Granted, there were spells to make someone stay in a place against their will, spells you couldn’t detect by looking at them. But those spells left marks on the people who were under them and none of these girls and women displayed any of them. Also, keeping so many people under this spell would use up so much energy that a single witch attempting it would be killed after a few minutes.

So they remained here out of their free will. Isabella hadn’t thought of this before, even though it should have been obvious from the beginning. After all. Her investigation had shown that some of the girls went with their kidnapper voluntarily. This was indeed an interesting discovery and Isabella expected her job from now on to be much more difficult. Parents didn’t want to be told that their children had left them by choice without saying goodbye to live in a forest with a witch. Or more than one. Isabella still wasn’t sure on this. She would have to do more research.

Then the scene before her changed. The women and girls gathered in front of the entrance, chatting excitedly. Isabella shifted around so she could see the impressive double door better. It was open, like every window, and Isabella could see movement behind it. Someone stepped outside into the sunshine, but at the exact same moment, Isabella saw stars dancing in front of her eyes and all the blood in her body rushed to her head. Isabella had never fainted before but from what other people had told her, she gathered that this was what was happening to her. She tried to fight it, but it was of no use. Her grip slipped from the tree trunk and she crashed to the floor, losing consciousness completely.

*

When Isabella woke up again, she was lying on a soft meadow. It was evening already and she felt more well-rested than she had in months. Upon sitting up, she realised she had been sleeping on the meadow she and Roberto had walked down earlier to the forest. But what had happened there? Roberto had come under the influence of various spells and Isabella had gotten fed up with him and had left him behind. Then she must have run into a spell herself because she couldn’t remember anything after that.

Isabella scrambled to her feet. She scanned her surroundings but couldn’t spot Roberto, so she walked back up the hill to where their car was parked. Even though the sun was setting, it was still hot, and when Isabella reached the top of the hill, she was sweating and her shirt was sticking to her back.

Roberto also wasn’t near the car. Isabella felt dread at the thought of having made a terrible mistake by leaving Roberto alone in the forest. Everyone would blame her if something had happened to him, and rightfully so. The worst part was that Laura would be disappointed with her. She could understand Isabella’s need to work alone, but not if it endangered other people.

At that moment, her phone began to ring and when she looked at the caller ID she saw that it was Laura. Her heart pounded in her chest when she answered.

“Isabella, are you all right?” Laura sounded agitated.

Isabella was so taken aback by her obvious concern (she had expected to be shouted at) that she answered with a simple, “yes”.

“I was so worried,” Laura confessed. “They found Roberto and then they couldn’t tell me where you were and they called me and I didn’t know –“

Isabella interrupted her. “Shhh, Laura, calm down, I can’t understand anything you’re saying.”

Isabella could hear Laura draw breath. “I got a phone call asking me if I’d been in contact with you. They told me you and Roberto had gone into the forest, but only Roberto had appeared again and his clothes were torn and he didn’t know where he was and he couldn’t remember what had happened and all I knew was that you weren’t there and they couldn’t tell me and Roberto couldn’t tell me, of course. And I’ve tried calling you a million times and you never picked up and I was so worried.”

“I’m so sorry for scaring you so,” Isabella apologised. She cursed herself for her unprofessionalism, but was also a tiny bit flattered because Laura had been so concerned for her. “I was asleep. I guess I must’ve come under the influence of a spell because one moment I was walking through the forest and the next I woke up in a meadow. That’s also the reason why I didn’t answer my phone earlier.”

“Can you tell me why you and Roberto appeared at completely different locations?” Laura asked, still sounding concerned.

“We were separated,” Isabella confessed hesitantly. “That is to say, I left him behind because he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Hm,” Laura made.

“And that’s not the worst part,” Isabella decided to come clean. “I left him while he was under the influence of a spell.”

“Oh, Isabella, that’s bad.” Laura’s concern was now hidden behind disappointment.

“There was nothing I could do,” Isabella tried to justify her behaviour. ”He kept shouting at thin air and I couldn’t reason with him. He was slowing me down and …”

Isabella paused. She suddenly had the feeling that she had forgotten something vital to her mission.

“Isabella? Are you there?”

Isabella shook her head. “I don’t know. I felt like I’d forgotten something.”

Laura didn’t show interest in Isabella’s memory loss. “I have to be honest with you, Isabella, this will have consequences.”

Isabella was brought back to reality by the coldness in Laura’s voice. “I know,” she said firmly, “I’m fully aware of that.

“For now,” Laura continued, “I want you to go back to Florence and continue your investigation. Should you pull a stunt like this again, I’m gonna bring you back to London. Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

“And from now on I want to be kept up to date about every step you take,” Laura told her.

“No problem,” Isabella assured her.

What was a problem, however, as Isabella would soon find out, was getting back to Florence. She couldn’t use Roberto’s car because she didn’t have the keys. So she walked to the nearest village in the hope that there was a bus service going to Florence.

Isabella was in luck. She caught the last bus to Florence and returned a little after ten. She knew she should probably go back to the headquarters and explain herself, but she didn’t feel like listening to more accusations today, even if they were, strictly speaking, justified. If she was lucky, she could make it look as if she had just returned from the forest in the morning. Even though she had felt well-rested when she had woken up earlier, she was tired now and wanted to go to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella has a dream about the house in the forest and the women who live there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a short chapter, but Florence finally makes an appearance.

_She was back in the forest, walking along the path she had only taken a few hours before. The sun was shining again, the birds were singing, and it smelled like spring. Isabella felt completely at peace with herself, but she also was excited in anticipation of what expected her at the end of the path. She was walking faster now. Soon she would spot the cottage again, but this time she wouldn’t have to hide. After all, they were expecting her now._

_The sun was setting and the light turned from white to soft red. Isabella heard singing and laughter and she started to run. She didn’t want to be late. The closer she came, the louder the singing grew and the faster Isabella ran._

_She spotted the cottage first. No one was outside this time and Isabella wasn’t surprised to find it deserted. Everyone would be at the big house. She hurried on and finally arrived where she wanted to be._

_Around thirty girls and women were gathered on the meadow in front of the house. They all wore dresses, white and flowing in a gentle breeze. Isabella was wearing the same, as she suddenly realised. Some of them were singing and clapping and Isabella wanted nothing more than to join in. But as soon as she had made this decision, the singing aborted._

_Then a voice started to speak and Isabella had never heard anything that could be compared to it. It was timeless, not really belonging to this world. Isabella wanted to listen to this voice for the rest of her life. It belonged to a tall woman (or at least tall by Isabella’s standards) who was, in contrast to the others, dressed in a black suit and a large, black hat. Where the others were barefoot, she was wearing red high-heels. Flaming red hair was falling over her shoulders and down her back, much the same colour as the sunset._

_“Isabella Summers,” she announced, her arms outstretched. “Welcome.”_

_Isabella felt her face go red as she found herself the centre of attention._

_“We have been waiting for you a long time,” the woman went on._

_All the others were smiling and waving at Isabella._

_“Come here,” the woman demanded, beckoning Isabella to her with a wave of her hand._

_Isabella stepped closer to the woman into the middle of the crowd. The woman was standing in the doorframe of the large double door to which three steps led up, so she appeared to be even taller than she actually was. Isabella wasn’t sure how close she was supposed to come. But the woman kept waving, so Isabella kept walking until she stood right in front of the three steps. The woman stepped down so she was only standing one step above Isabella._

_“Isabella Summers,” she said again, “do you want to join us?”_

_Isabella remembered that there was a valid reason why she should say no, but she couldn’t, not for the life of her, remember what it was. Right now, it was more important that she said yes._

_“Yes,” Isabella answered._

_The woman leaned down to her and cupped Isabella’s face in both hands. “Then we welcome you,” she announced._

_Softly, the woman put her lips against Isabella’s and kissed her. Isabella was too unprepared to reciprocate, but a surge of energy went through her body._

_“Do your best to make Isabella feel as welcome as possible,” the woman said to the others. Then she turned around and went back up the stairs to oversee the ongoing from her vantage point._

_The others crowded around Isabella. Some of them hugged her, some kissed her, like the woman had done. Isabella felt overwhelmed by a sense of belonging, as if she had finally found her true calling. Music filled the air and the women around Isabella began to dance and sway in time with the music. Isabella joined them happily. First, she danced with two other women, both at least ten years younger than she was. But then someone tugged at the sleeve of her dress and she found herself face to face with the woman in the black suit._

_“I’m entitled to a dance with every new girl,” she whispered into Isabella’s ear._

_Isabella hadn’t been called a girl in years. It was a strange feeling, to say the least._

_The woman was amazing at dancing. Isabella would like to think she was not bad at it herself, but the woman put everything she had ever done to shame. She wish the dance would never end and she could spend the rest of her life pressed against this woman. They started to kiss again, slow and deep, while the woman had her arms around Isabella and swayed them together in time with the music. Then their kisses grew rougher and the woman gripped Isabella’s hair with one hand and pulled her close by the hip with the other. Isabella moaned involuntarily. The woman reinforced her grip and pressed one of her legs up between Isabella’s. Isabella hissed at the contact._

_The woman leaned down to whisper into Isabella’s ear. “That’s it. That’s what I –”_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella has an encounter with a girl who was almost taken by the witch and she starts to doubt that the witches are as evil as she had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens ...

Isabella woke up panting. The sheets were sticking to her body. She couldn’t remember what had happened. She must have been dreaming.

It was already nine in the morning. Isa had slept for almost ten hours. She should probably hurry up now. The others were most certainly expecting her. But first, Isa had to take a shower.

She slipped off to the bathroom, still feeling hazy from a dream she couldn’t quite remember. The hot water stirred up memories. It was all fuzzy, but Isabella couldn’t help but let a hand wander between her legs and touch herself when snippets came back to her. She panted quietly, not sure how thin the walls of the hotel were and who could hear her, as she moved her hand faster and faster. When she came, she suddenly saw a red-haired woman in her mind and Isabella had the strong feeling that she had seen her before.

When Isabella arrived at the office, most of the men looked at her with a strange expression. Isabella didn’t pay them much attention, but went straight to Roberto’s office to apologise for what had happened the day before. She wasn’t surprised to find that Roberto was in. It took more than a few spells to force him to stay at home.

“Oh, there you are,” Roberto said coldly. “We thought we’d lost you.” He didn’t offer her a seat, so Isabella remained standing. “I talked with your Guild Leader this morning and she assured me your behaviour from yesterday will have consequences, so I’m just going to pretend that nothing has happened.”

“Thank you,” Isabella said.

“What I cannot overlook, however,” Roberto went on, “is the outfit you have chosen for today. So you really think this is appropriate working attire?”

Isabella looked at her outfit and couldn’t find anything wrong with it at first glance.

“Yes?” she asked, sounding a bit unsure.

“Are you sure?” Roberto pointed to a couple of framed pictures on his wall. Almost all of them showed witches Roberto had caught. Most of them were wearing either long, wide dresses or wide blouses and trousers in either black or white. Those outfits were the complete opposite of what witch hunters wore. Hunters always wore earthy colours and tight, practical clothes so the fabric wouldn’t get caught on anything.

Today, Isabella was wearing tight, white trousers and a wide cream-coloured blouse. “That doesn’t look anything like my outfit,” Isabella protested, offended by Roberto’s words.

“It does a bit,” Roberto shrugged. “And the men don’t like it.”

“I don’t care about what the men like,” Isabella snorted. “It’s a normal outfit. Why should I dress like a witch?”

“I don’t pretend to understand women,” Roberto told her. “But I would be very grateful if you were to dress more appropriately tomorrow.”

Isabella wanted to shoot something back at Roberto, but someone knocked at the door right at this moment.

“They intercepted a kidnapping,” the man who entered told them. “You might want to come.”

Roberto jumped up immediately, his fight with Isabella forgotten, and stormed out of the room. Isabella followed him, eager for a new development.

The man who had told them about the failed kidnapping led them into one of two waiting rooms the headquarters had. A young girl, around 15, was sitting on the sofa, her face buried in her hands and her shoulders shaking with sobs. Isabella could only imagine how traumatic it must be to be almost kidnapped.

When the girl looked up and spotted Roberto, she began to scream. “Get him away from me!”

Isabella gripped Roberto by his sleeve and pulled him back. “Get out,” she hissed.

Roberto didn’t protest. “What was that?” he asked after the door had closed behind them.

“She’s in shock,” Isabella explained. “Sometimes, an encounter with a witch can be traumatising. I’ve seen Laura, our Guild Leader, deal with cases like this one hundreds of times. I can try and talk to her if you want.”

Roberto nodded. “Yes, you do that. I’m going to wait here.”

Isabella knocked gently on the door to the waiting room and stepped inside. The girl had resumed her previous position, but looked up when Isabella entered.

“Hello, I’m Isabella,” Isabella introduced herself. She spoke slowly because she had no idea how good this girl’s English was. “I’m here to help you.”

“No, you’re not,” the girl stated bluntly. “If you were, you would have let me go.”

“Go where?” Isabella asked, sitting down on a chair opposite the girl.

“Into the forest,” the girl snapped as if this was obvious.

Isabella decided on a course that would be the least confrontational. “What’s your name?” she asked to buy time.

“Lucia,” the girl answered, obviously taken aback by Isabella’s gentle tone of voice.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Isabella asked slowly.

“No,” Lucia told her outright. “You wouldn’t understand. You hunt them. You couldn’t possibly.”

Isabella had never been accused of not understanding witches, not because she really was brilliant at understanding them, but because, in all her years, this had never been an issue. She wanted to point out that her knowledge was good enough to hunt them down and kill them, but something told her that this wouldn’t be the best move.

“You can try and explain it to me,” Isabella suggested.

Lucia shook her head. “No, I’d rather not.”

Isabella didn’t know what possessed her when she said the next sentence. “I know they don’t take you by force,” she whispered. “And I know that there must be a reason why you go with them out of your own free will. And I want to find out why and how. I can see something isn’t right here, and I’m not sure it’s the witches.”

Lucia still looked as if she mistrusted Isabella, but her face was less set and hard. “How do I know that you’re not just saying this to make me trust you?”

“I can only tell you that I want to uncover the truth,” Isabella told her, “and if it turns out that the witches aren’t the guilty party here, I will see that justice is done.”

What was wrong with her? She was here to hunt down the witches and not to defend them. She hadn’t meant to say any of the things she had. They were a lie and she hadn’t said them to trick Lucia into trusting her because she was always honest and thought nothing good could come from tricking others. But while she had said those words, she had completely and utterly believed them. And she couldn’t take them back now.

“All right,” Lucia said. “I will tell you what’s going on, but only if you promise me that I’m free to go afterwards and the others won’t hold me here any longer against my will.”

This was news to Isabella. “Against your will?” she echoed.

“Yes,” Lucia confirmed. “They told me I had to remain here until I was willing to talk.”

This weren’t normal procedures. Victims were never treated the same as suspects. Isabella was shocked by those tightened methods.

“Yes, I can promise you will be free to go when you have talked to me. I will see to it myself.”

“It all started with the dreams,” Lucia began. “I haven’t been sleeping well lately, family troubles and all. And when I could sleep I had these dreams. I was walking through the forest and I came to this clearing. There was an old villa, and there were women gathered in front of it. In every dream I’ve had they were dressed all in white, only their faces looked differently each time. They were singing and laughing, but as soon as I arrived, they stopped and a woman stepped out of the house. She was also always dressed in the same clothes in every dream, a short, tight black dress and high heels. She welcomed me and told me they had been waiting for me for a long time before she kissed me. After that, the music started again and everyone was dancing. Eventually, the woman in the back dress joined in and she danced with me and then I would always wake up.”

Isabella looked at her in disbelief. She had had the exact same dream. Did this mean that she was also in danger of being taken by the witch?

“And for how long have you had this dream?” Isabella asked, trying to work out how much time she had left.

“For a few weeks,” Lucia told her.

“And what happened then?” Isabella pressed on.

“Then the dream changed,” Lucia continued. “The woman in the black dress was there again, but this time, she was dressed in expensive lingerie and I was inside the house, sitting on a leather sofa. She told me she would come to visit me soon and if I wanted I could come with her into the forest. I would get everything she had shown me in the dreams – there was much more than I have told you – and she would train me to be a witch if I wanted to. I said yes immediately, of course. Anything is better than my current situation.”

“And what happened then; how did you end up here?” Isabella asked. She didn’t want to press the subject of Lucia’s troubled situation.

“She came to my house, just as she had promised,” Lucia told her. “She was so beautiful, you have no idea. In my dreams, she already looked stunning, but that’s nothing compared to how she really looked. I was ready for her, bags packed and all, so we left. But just as we were walking out the door, my father came home and he forced me to stay until those men came and took me away.”

“And the woman?” Isabella wanted to know.

“My father tried to hit her, but she dodged him, so he drew his gun – he is a police officer – and tried to shoot her, but she had already vanished.”

“Would you try to go with her again if she came for you a second time?”

“Of course I would,” Lucia said determinately.

Isabella cleared her throat. “So you never felt threatened by either your dream or the woman herself?” she asked. “You didn’t feel like she wished you ill?”

“No, never,” Lucia shook her head. “The opposite, in fact. She wanted to help me.”

“So her constant presence in your dreams wasn’t unsettling but comforting,” Isabella mumbled more to herself than to Lucia. “Is there anything else you can tell me, anything at all?”

“They don’t mean any harm,” Lucia said. “They’re trying to help us. So please, don’t kill them.”

Isabella swallowed hard. “I can’t promise you that, I’m sorry. It’s my job to hunt them.”

“But they’re not doing any harm,” Lucia raised her voice again. “Why can’t you just let them be?”

“This is not how it works,” Isabella tried to explain. “They are a threat to our society and we can’t let them allow to continue.”

“I thought you were different,” Lucia snapped. “You told me you believed they were innocent.”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Isabella told her honestly. “I’ve had the same dream as you, but –”

Lucia interrupted her. “You’ve had it as well? But then you must understand, you simply must.”

“I can’t.” Isabella felt guilty for not understanding Lucia. “It goes against everything I’ve trained for my entire life.”

“I want to leave now,” Lucia told her, standing up. “There is nothing more I can tell you.”

Isabella stood up as well. “Of course,” she assured Lucia. “You can leave anytime and I promise you we will leave you alone from now on.”

“Because one can rely on your word,” Lucia remarked bitterly.

Isabella didn’t reply and only led Lucia to the door. When she saw Roberto rushing towards them, evidently a million questions on his mind, she shook her head to ward him off and escorted Lucia to the door. Later, she would tell Roberto that Lucia had been under a spell when she had tried to leave with the witch. She didn’t know why she told this lie; she wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

*

Later in the evening, when Isabella was lying in bed, feeling tired, frustrated, and angry, Laura messaged her with an apology Isa had desperately craved without realising she had.

_Laura [21:31] Hi Isabella, I just wanted to apologise for snapping at you yesterday. I know that working with others is difficult for you and I’ll try to be more understanding next time. Hope you’re well xx_

_Isabella [21:35] No, it really was my fault. I shouldn’t have left him like that._

_Laura [21:36] Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’ve talked with this man and he isn’t the nicest of people._

_Laura [21:38] Anyway, how are things?_

_Isabella [21:41] Today was difficult, a girl basically told me that I’m the bad guy for killing witches._

_Laura [21:42] You do know that you’re not though, right?_

_Isabella [21:52] Yes, I know._

_Isabella [21:52] But she said I don’t understand them and I never thought that this was necessary? Maybe we’ve been doing something wrong all along?_

_Laura [21:53] What girl did you talk to?_

_Isabella [21:55] A girl who was almost kidnapped by a witch today and she asked me not to kill them._

_Laura [21:56] Well, that girl was obviously under the influence of a spell._

_Laura [21:56] Don’t listen to her._

_Laura [21:57]: Your work is important to a lot of people._

_Isabella [22:01] I’m not sure though. The girl didn’t seem threatened by the witch. If anything, the witch was trying to help her._

_Laura [22:02] She was most likely under a spell. I know, this line of work can be hard and it can get to you. It happens to the best of us._

_Isabella [22:04] Have you ever had doubts if we’re doing the right thing?_

_Laura [22:04] Of course I have._

_Laura [22:04] That’s normal._

_Isabella [22:06] Can I tell you something?_

_Laura [22:06] Always._

_Isabella [22:10] The girl told me that she’s been having dreams about the witch._

_Isabella [22:11] I’ve had the same dream._

_Isabella [22:11] And after the dream the witch came to her to take her with her._

_Isabella [22:12] What does this mean?_

_Laura [22:12] I don’t know, but I guess the witch is messing with you._

_Laura [22:12] Try to ignore it as best as you can._

_Isabella [22:13] I wish I could._

_Isabella [22:15] I’m scared._

_Isabella [22:17] Something is happening to me and I don’t know what._

_Isabella [22:19] This is like nothing I’ve ever had to deal with._

_Isabella [22:30] Laura?_

*

Isabella hadn’t slept at all, too scared of the woman appearing again in her dreams. When her alarm went off in the morning, she had just begun to drift off to sleep.

When she arrived at the headquarters, she was glad to discover that Roberto had a task for her. She was to teach some of the men to be better shots. This took up almost the whole morning, since many of the men had never held a gun before.

Being thus distracted, Isabella didn’t have time to think about the embarrassing breakdown she had had the night before. Laura must think that she was a whiny baby who couldn’t stand her ground in the face of danger.

In the afternoon, Roberto told her to go home and rest because she looked tired. Isabella welcomed this opportunity to wind down. She went for a walk through the city, enjoying the afternoon sun. Then she sat down in a café and let her eyes wander around the piazza. This was when she spotted her. The woman from her dream was standing at the opposite side of the piazza near the entrance to a church. She was wearing tight, black leggings and a red shirt. Her hair was falling loosely over her shoulders and huge, triangular sunglasses covered almost her entire face.

Isabella froze in her seat. Lucia had been right; the woman was much more beautiful in real life than she had been in her dream. Her skin radiated health and beauty and her outfit was tight in the right places. If the woman had tried to chat her up in a club, Isabella wouldn’t have hesitated for one second. Even now she was drawn to her. An inexplicable force pulled Isabella closer to the woman and she stood up to walk over to her.

Right at this moment, someone shouted her name. Isabella didn’t want to see who it was, but the caller was persistent and she couldn’t ignore them any longer.

“Laura?” she asked surprised when she was who the caller was.

“I’d thought I’d come by and offer you my support in person rather than over the phone.” Laura smiled at her. “Are you surprised to see me?”

“Yes,” Isabella said slowly, looking over Laura’s shoulder.

The woman was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella and Laura go out together to wind down and relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter I was most exited about when writing it, I'm really proud of it :3

Someone had once described Florence as the most romantic city to her, even more romantic than Paris. A few days ago, Isabella would have been overjoyed to be here with Laura. Now she was plagued by guilt at the memory of what had happened the previous night and looking at Laura made her blush with shame.

“You didn’t have to come,” Isabella said, staring at the floor.

“I know,” Laura shrugged, “but I wanted to surprise you. And it sounded as if you needed some support from someone who knows you.”

Isabella’s heart skipped a beat at Laura’s words. She looked at her and was struck by the stark contrast she provided to the woman. Laura was more Isabella’s type: short, slightly built, with brunette hair and a round face. But when she looked at Laura now with the memory of the woman still fresh in her mind, she couldn’t help but notice how imperfect Laura was.

“But did you just come here because of me?” Isabella asked hesitantly.

“I came here to help you, yes,” Laura confirmed. “To be honest, I don’t think the people here will be of much use to us.”

Isabella smiled, thinking of Roberto.

“Now, tell me,” Laura put an arm around Isabella’s shoulder and led her back to the table she had just vacated. “How was your day?”

“Better than yesterday,” Isabella told her.

“Done anything exciting?”

Isabella hesitated for a moment and then decided against telling Laura that she had seen the woman just moments before. “I tried to teach some of Roberto’s men how to use guns and they were dreadful.”

Laura laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.” She ordered a coffee for herself and a second one for Isabella. “I checked your hotel earlier and there were plenty of rooms available, so I got one next to yours,” Laura told her. “And I thought, since it’s the weekend, we could go out this evening.”

Isabella was glad about Laura’s suggestion. She really needed to wind down and relax.

They finished their coffee and went back to the hotel together. Laura checked in and then Isabella accompanied her to her room. They really were next to each other with a door connecting their two rooms. Isabella went back to her own to change into clothes she could wear to a club or cocktail bar, wherever she and Laura would be going.

There was a knock on the door and when Isabella opened it, she froze. Laura was wearing almost the exact same outfit as the woman earlier. And she didn’t look half-bad in it.

“Are you ready?” Laura asked and winked at her.

Since they were both not familiar with Florence, they had no idea where to go. They decided to walk around until they found a club that looked nice.

There weren’t many people around for a Friday night. Most of the women would stay at home, Isabella guessed, scared of being taken by the witch. Or, which was more likely in the light of recent events, the parents forced their daughters to stay at home.

Isabella and Laura found a club which was called _Diavolessa_ and they thought it was too good a joke to let it pass. The club was almost empty, but then again it was only early in the evening. Laura got them both drinks and they sat down at the bar.

Isabella watched as the club slowly filled with people, only half-listening to Laura’s stories about what had happened over the last couple of days. Isabella, meanwhile, was hoping to see the woman again. After all, a girl had been taken from a club just like this one.

Isabella had no idea why she suddenly wanted to see the woman again when her last appearance only two hours ago had chilled her to the bone. She was also astonished by her own behaviour – after all, Laura, her crush of five years, was sitting right next to her, looking stunningly and getting drunker by the minute. In other words, if Isabella ever wanted to make a move on her, now was the time. But all she could think about was the woman.

After two drinks, Laura leaned in closer to Isabella and suggested they should go and dance. The dancefloor was still quite empty, so there would be enough room for them. Isabella agreed and Laura took her hand and led her to the middle of the club.

Immediately, Laura pulled Isabella close to her and put her hand on Isabella’s hip. “Hello,” she mumbled drunkenly.

“Hello,” Isabella mumbled back, smiling.

“You’re soft,” Laura giggled, squeezing Isabella’s hip.

“Thank you.”

“I would really like –,” Laura started but was interrupted by someone tapping on her shoulder.

“Excuse me,” a woman said to them. “I’m here with a friend,” she pointed to a group of women around a large table, “and she is getting married tomorrow. Anyway, she wants me to invite all the women here for drinks, if you would like to join us.”

“Sure,” Laura nodded. “If you want to,” she added in Isabella’s direction.

Isabella could never say no to free alcohol, so she agreed. The followed the woman to the table.

“I’m Cati, by the way,” she introduced herself.

“I’m Laura and this is Isabella.”

“Are you tourists?” Cati asked.

“No, actually, we’re here for business,” Isabella answered.

“Oh, what line of work are you in?” Cati sat down and offered them seats on either side of her.

“We’re witch hunters,” Isabella revealed in a low voice, giving Cati a suggestive glance.

“Are you here because of that witch? You know, the one who’s been taking all these girls?”

“We’re not at liberty to discuss our mission with you,” Laura tried to cut short the conversation.

“But we can say, yes, that’s the reason why we’re here,” Isabella answered nevertheless.

Cati felt the sudden tension after Isabella had disobeyed Laura directly, so she quickly changed the subject.

“Who wants a drink?” she asked.

She handed them both two tequila shots and Laura downed hers immediately.

“Impressive,” Cati giggled.

Isabella rolled her eyes. There was nothing impressive about finishing a shot of tequila in one gulp. Every farmer and his mother could do that. Her shot was gone in the blink of an eye. Cati immediately handed both of them refills.

“Are you trying to get us drunk?” Isabella laughed.

“I might be doing that, yes,” Cati admitted with a grin.

“Interesting,” Isabella said, batting her eyelashes.

Laura downed another shot and Isabella followed her example, not taking her eyes off her Guild Leader. Laura smiled and winked at her. Again, Cati immediately picked up on the changed atmosphere.

“So, are you two …?” She made a vague gesture between them.

Laura giggled and blushed and Isabella felt a tug in the pit of her stomach at that sight.

“No, we’re not.”

“It sure does look like it, though,” Cati pointed out.

“Actually,” Laura smirked at Isabella, “actually you interrupted me earlier. I was trying to make a move on her.”

Isabella blushed involuntarily.

“Were you?” Cati asked. “Well, I’m sorry for interrupting you then.” She glanced at Isabella and bit her lip. “You can finish now if you want to.”

Laura giggled again. “No,” she said, blushing.

“Do _you_ want to kiss her?” Cati asked Isabella.

Isabella nodded slowly, unconsciously liking her lips.

“Then I don’t see why this would be a problem.” Cati was smirking mischievously.

Laura continued giggling. Isabella had never seen her like this; she was the complete opposite of her usually so composed self. Her heart beat faster and she felt her feet go cold. Isabella really wanted this to happen, but the thought of it made her incredibly nervous.

Laura leaned in closer and Isabella swallowed hard. This was happening right now, after five years of wondering what it would feel like to taste Laura’s lips. A second later she found out that they were soft and warm and tasted like the shots she’d just had and faintly of the coffee from earlier.

Isabella was determined to make this kiss special, something they would both remember many months from now. Laura gripped Cati’s leg when Isabella deepened the kiss and Isabella pulled away, satisfied.

“See?” Cati smiled. “That wasn’t so hard.”

Laura smiled at Isabella.

“Shots?” Cati offered them another round.

Isabella shrugged and accepted the glass. Laura giggled so much that hers almost slipped from her hand.

“Are you all right?” Cati asked her.

Laura nodded exuberantly.

“I should take her home,” Isabella said. She herself felt drunker than she had been in years.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Cati remarked. Laura had put her arms around Cati’s neck and was using her as support.

“Come on then, Laura.” Isabella extended a hand to Laura and Laura took it, drunkenly stumbling into Isabella’s arms.

“Oh, and Isabella,” Cati attracted Isabella’s attention, “if you’re still interested in getting closer to Laura, now is the right time.”

Isabella smiled. “Thank you,” she mumbled, swearing to herself that she wouldn’t use Laura’s drunkenness to her advantage.

Isabella supported Laura all the way back to the hotel. She planned on tucking Laura into bed and then on watching over her. When they reached Laura’s room, Laura stumbled onto Isabella, so that Isabella was stuck between Laura’s body and the door.

“Could I interest you in some coffee perhaps?” Laura winked at her. She was almost back to her old self and Isabella realised that she had pretended to be drunker than she actually was to get Isabella to go back to the hotel with her. “They make quite good coffee here in Italy, or so I’ve heard,” she went on.

“I can’t say no to such an offer,” Isabella confessed, glad that Laura wasn’t as drunk as she had thought.

Laura reached passed Isabella to unlock the door, never breaking eye contact with her. Isabella let herself be pushed backwards into the room. Laura kissed her again and it was rougher this time.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately,” Laura admitted, “what it would be like to feel you.”

Isabella took one of Laura’s hands and put it on her breast. “Like this?” she asked.

“Yes,” Laura breathed.

Isabella fell onto the bed, and let her legs fall open seductively. “You can touch something else if you want to,” she offered.

Laura kneeled down in front of Isabella. She put both her hands on Isabella’s thighs and stroked them slowly. “Yes, I would like that,” she said honestly.

Laura’s hands wandered further up Isabella’s thighs and under her dress. Isabella shifted around so Laura could push the fabric further up. Soon, her thumb brushed against Isabella’s pants and both of them breathed in audibly. Laura stopped to look up at Isabella and to seek her approval. Isabella nodded and Laura gripped the waistband of Isabella’s pants to pull them down.

Isabella lay down on the bed and gave herself over to Laura’s hands. Laura started by softly stroking Isabella’s clit and playing with it. Isabella was pleasantly surprised that Laura was so skilled at this. Isabella wondered how much experience she had had.

Thoughts like this soon became of secondary importance. Laura circled Isabella’s hole with her index finger and then pushed inside. Isabella gasped at the intrusion and felt her muscles clench around Laura’s finger. Laura used her free hand to push Isabella’s hips down onto the mattress. Somehow, Isabella managed to loosen the blanket, which was stretched firmly over the bed, and to tangle her hands in it.

Isabella began to moan as Laura moved her finger faster. Involuntarily, she moved her hips in time with the thrusts, which caused Laura to grip her harder. Isabella hoped that this grip would leave marks – she loved to be marked during sex. She struggled a bit against Laura’s grip, so Laura would have to use more force to hold her down. Laura dug her nails into Isabella’s soft skin, whether or not Laura could see through her ploy.

When Isabella came, it was an orgasm that had built up slowly over several minutes. The sudden release had Isabella moan Laura’s name loudly before blushing at the realisation what had just past her lips. However, Laura smiled and crawled on top of her. She brought the finger which had just moments ago been inside of Isabella up to her lips and licked it clean. Isabella couldn’t help but lick her own lips in response at this sight.

“You’re very pretty when you come,” Laura told her.

“Thank you,” Isabella mumbled and kissed Laura.

She slowly raised her hand to touch Laura in the same way Laura had touched her earlier. Her hand brushed Laura’s nipple, discovering that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Laura smiled at her mischievously. “Surprise.” She then leaned down to kiss Isabella while Isabella twisted her nipple lightly.

“Take this off,” Isabella asked of her, tugging at her shirt. “I want to see you.”

Laura happily obliged. Isabella let her eyes wander across Laura’s small breasts and firm stomach (which inevitably came with a life of hunting witches) and was overcome by a sudden desire to touch every inch of Laura’s body. She let her hands glide over Laura’s body like she had done many times before in her dreams. Laura sighed contently.

Isabella’s hands wandered lower until they lay above the zip of Laura’s trousers. “May I?” she asked.

“Go on then,” Laura allowed.

Isabella opened her trousers and without waiting for Laura’s affirmation put a hand inside and touched Laura’s clit through her pants. Laura’s hips rolled and she hissed at the contact. Isabella smiled and increased the pressure.

“Don’t get cheeky with me,” Laura warned her playfully.

Isabella raised her head from the covers to suck one of Laura’s nipples into her mouth. Laura pressed her back down and kissed her before standing up and moving her hips slowly. Isabella watched contently as Laura stepped out of her tight trousers, revealing perfect legs. When her pants were tossed to the floor as well, Isabella swallowed hard.

“Back down,” Laura ordered and Isabella obliged, her heart beating rapidly.

Laura climbed back onto the bed and shuffled forward on her knees until she was above Isabella’s breast. She touched one finger to Isabella’s lips and Isabella realised that it was wet. Her tongue darted out to taste it.

Laura moved forward a bit more until she was above Isabella’s face. Isabella looped her arms around Laura’s thighs in anticipation of what was to come. When Laura lowered herself onto Isabella’s face, it was overwhelming at first because Isabella felt trapped. But then she began to enjoy the feeling of Laura being utterly in control. Laura’s encouraging moans made her lick eagerly and when Laura came, shouting and shuddering, Isabella couldn’t help but moan with her.

Laura lay down next to Isabella and stroked her face. “Finally,” she murmured.

“Finally what?” Isabella asked, cuddling up with Laura.

“Finally us,” Laura sighed contently. “I’ve waited a long time for this, you know.”

“Me too,” Isabella admitted, but it didn’t feel like the truth. A few days ago, she would have sworn her undying love for Laura right now, but something was buzzing at the back of her mind. It felt like Isabella had made out drunkenly with a woman who wasn’t her girlfriend and now felt guilty for cheating on her.

Intertwined as they lay, they fell asleep together.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella has another dream about Florence in which she is confronted with her feelings for Laura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, but Florence is back, so yay :3

_Isabella was outside the house again, but this time it looked differently. It was night and the surroundings were quiet. Not a single leaf rustled, not a single animal scurried through the undergrowth. None of the other women were around; Isabella was the only living being, as far as she could tell._

_Then she heard a whisper. “Isabella.”_

_She spun around, but no one was there. “Hello?” she shouted._

_No answer. Instead, it continued. “Isabella. Isabella.”_

_“Who’s there?” she demanded to know._

_The whisper grew louder. “Isabella. Isabella. Isabella.” It was the volume of a thousand voices, but it was the same, overlapping and cancelling itself out. Isabella sank to the floor and covered her ears, but she could still hear it. Then one voice was louder than all of them, shouting her name into the night._

_The woman had appeared. She was standing far away from Isabella, but Isabella recognised her nevertheless. She was wearing a long white dress and a matching white hat and her red hair glowed in the dark._

_“Isabella,” she repeated._

_All the other voices had stopped and it was only the woman now._

_“Yes?” Isabella asked timidly. She knew that this was just another dream, but nevertheless it was scaring her._

_“What do you think you’re doing?” the woman said in an accusing tone of voice._

_“What am I doing?” Isabella was confused._

_“Why did you sleep with her?”_

_“How do you know about that?” Isabella was speechless._

_“I have my sources,” the woman answered vaguely._

_Isabella stood up and dusted herself off. “It’s none of your business with whom I have sex,” she stated bluntly._

_“It is when I know it makes you unhappy.” The woman looked more concerned than scary now._

_Isabella felt as if all the air had been knocked out of her. “Why do you think that?”_

_“I know that you’ve had a crush on her for years and yet you never made a move on her. Why is that?”_

_“It was never the right time,” Isabella told her, feeling like she had to justify her behaviour._

_“In all those years? Not even for a one-night-stand?” the woman tried to clarify. “I find that hard to believe.”_

_“But I didn’t want a one-night-stand.”_

_“That’s interesting,” the woman said thoughtfully, “because that is what you’ve just had.”_

_“No, it isn’t,” Isabella protested._

_“So are you in a relationship with her now?”_

_“That’s what Laura wants,” Isabella said calmly._

_“But is it what you want?”_

_Isabella reminded herself that this was just a dream and that it couldn’t possibly have any real-life consequences before she answered._

_“No, it isn’t. I thought it was – I was convinced it was – but since I came here, since I started the mission, things have changed.”_

_“What has changed?” the woman wanted to know. She started to move closer to Isabella, attentively staring at her face._

_“I don’t know.” Isabella felt cold now; at least, she was shaking. “It’s … well, it’s you, mostly. I don’t know what’s happening to me and why I keep having dreams about you.” She looked at the woman, searching for answers._

_“Now is not the time to discuss this. I will give you the reason another time.”_

_Isabella accepted this. What did it matter? It was a dream anyway. “Every woman looks pale when compared to you, you can’t blame me.”_

_“I’m not blaming you,” the woman spoke softly. She was now very close to Isabella. “But tell me, in what way are you attracted to this woman?”_

_“I don’t know. I wanted to be together with her. I admired her a lot. And she’s brilliant at her job and she’s tough and I’d always imagined that she would be brilliant in bed and we have so much in common, we would be the best couple ever. I mean, have you seen her? She’s cute, she’s funny, she looks stunning –”_

_The woman interrupted her harshly. “And yet you never made a move. Why’s that?”_

_“It never felt right,” Isabella confessed._

_“Until now,” the woman added._

_“No, it also didn’t feel right now.”_

_“Then why did you have sex with her?”_

_“Because I was drunk and I’ve had fantasies about her before and now she was available.”_

_The woman was now crowding into Isabella’s personal space. “And what you said before, about me changing everything you felt for her?”_

_“I don’t know.” Isabella was shouting now. “I’ve never felt more confused in my life. I’m not supposed to doubt what I am doing is the right thing and yet here I am. All my life I’ve trained to hunt people like you and kill them and now I’m doubting my every action. I hope you’re happy for ruining my life.”_

_The woman’s eyes went soft. “I don’t mean you any harm and I will explain everything to you in due time. I sincerely hope that you will understand it. But please, don’t be too hard with yourself.” She carefully raised a hand and cupped Isabella’s cheek. The touch was warm and soft and more intense than anything Isabella had ever felt in a dream._

_“I didn’t mean to sleep with her.” A sob escaped Isabella’s throat. “But I was so drunk and then there was this woman, Cati, and she talked me into it.”_

_“Cati?” the woman repeated. “What did she look like?”_

_Isabella was confused by this question, but answered nevertheless. “She was tall and had long, blonde hair and a pointy nose and full lips.”_

_“Oh,” the woman made. “That explains a lot.”_

_“What does it explain?” Isabella wanted to know._

_The woman ignored the question. “Don’t worry, she will be dealt with.”_

_Before she could ask another one, the woman cupped her cheek again and kissed her briefly. “Goodbye, Isabella Summers. Don’t lose hope.”_


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella finally meets the witch and learns a thing or two which makes her question her motivations as a witch hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that some of you wanted Isabella to meet Florence, and it's finally happening.

**"** Isabella, wake up.” Laura shook her and her eyes snapped open. “The forest is on fire.”

“The forest is what?” Isabella still felt drowsy from sleeping and her brain couldn’t process what Laura had just said.

“Look.” Laura drew the curtains back and pointed outside.

Isabella jumped out of bed and pressed her hands against the window for support. In the general direction of where she believed the forest to be, there was a giant cloud of black smoke covering the sky.

“Did Roberto do something crazy again?” she asked. She thought him capable of setting the forest on fire to smoke out the witches. Before Laura could answer, Isabella’s phone rang.

“Are you seeing this?” Roberto asked, sounding like his usual stressed self.

“Did you set the forest on fire?” Isabella wanted to know half-jokingly.

“No, of course not,” Roberto sighed. “But I need you to come straight away. We’re putting a team together and I want you on the team.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“We have to go,” Isabella told Laura. Her heart was beating rapidly at the thought that she would finally be involved in a mission. “I’m quickly going to go to my room and change.”

“See you in a bit.” Laura smiled at her and Isabella felt a pang of guilt.

Luckily, from here on her day became so hectic that all other thoughts and emotions were pushed aside. Isabella got dressed to a steadily increasing smell of smoke in her nostrils. She was used to it because she had witnessed many witch burnings. And what she smelled now smelled like that and not like a simple forest fire.

Laura accompanied her to the headquarters. She was dressed in her usual witch hunter clothes and looked nothing like the woman Isabella had kissed last night.

The headquarters was at its busiest yet. Isabella and Laura were ushered to Roberto’s office and told they should wait for him because he was busy elsewhere at the moment.

Isabella’s hands grew sweaty when she found herself alone with Laura and she was scared that Laura would bring up the previous night, but Laura was too much of a professional to discuss their private life at this time of crisis.

When Roberto finally appeared, he left just enough time for Laura to introduce herself before he led them down to the garage where they got into a car and drove off towards the forest.

“It started this morning at four,” Roberto filled them in. “We have guard posts stationed near the forest and one of them called me to inform me of a thin cloud of smoke rising up from behind the trees. As you can see, it’s out of control now.”

The cloud was so gigantic that, driving towards it, the sky had completely disappeared and it felt like the middle of the night.

“Any guesses as to what has caused it?” Laura asked.

“We can only guess,” Roberto answered, “but let me tell you, just between me and you, it was probably one of the parents who got fed up with waiting and decided to take matters into their own hands.”

“By setting fire to the forest?” Isabella found it hard to believe that someone could be this stupid.

“Why not? Smoking them out isn’t a bad idea,” Roberto shrugged. “Especially this time of year when the forest is so dry that a small flame will ignite it.”

“I don’t think it was a parent, though,” Laura said thoughtfully. “It doesn’t smell like a forest fire. It smells as if someone is burning at the stake.”

Isabella nodded vigorously.

“I know, I’ve noticed,” Roberto agreed. “But it can’t be. No stake has ever burned like this.”

He brought the car to a stop close to where they had parked the first time when Isabella had come to the forest. They got out of the car and looked down at the edge of the forest and its branches peacefully swaying in a gentle breeze. It wasn’t at all the burning inferno that Isabella had expected. The cloud of smoke originated somewhere inside the forest, but the fire wasn’t spreading, otherwise every tree would be ablaze by now.

“I told you it’s a burning,” Laura said, her eyes glinting.

Isabella had to agree with Laura. It was one of scariest sights she had ever seen. “How is this kind of magic possible?” Isabella asked breathlessly.

But before any of the others could answer, they were distracted by a screaming woman who was running past them and towards the forest.

“Ma’am,” Roberto shouted after her, but the woman continued in her path.

Roberto sprinted after her; Isabella and Laura didn’t hesitate to follow. They stumbled down the hill, but didn’t have to go far because the woman had fallen to her knees.

“Get her out of there,” she screamed. “Get my daughter out of there.”

Laura sank to her knees beside the woman, putting a hand on her shoulder. The grass around them was moving and the sky was dark with ash and smoke, which gave the scene a dramatic colouring. Roberto stood next to them, watching.

Isabella had never been her best at consoling people, so she left this part to Laura, who was brilliant at it. Instead, she turned her attention back to the forest. Her blood froze in her veins when she spotted the woman standing at the treeline, observing the scene with quiet stoicism. When Isabella made eye contact with her, an electric charge went through her body, or at least it felt like it.

“Isabella,” she heard a whisper, just like in the dream. It didn’t grew louder, but more urgent. The wind picked up and moved her hair and it felt as if her name was being whispered directly into her ear. Isabella felt the strong urge to walk towards the woman and come face to face with her at last.

“I’m gonna go and have a look if I can find the source of the fire,” Isabella told Roberto and Laura.

“No, Isabella, it’s too dangerous,” Laura tried to stop her.

“I survived the forest once before, I’ll be fine,” Isabella calmed her. “I’m only gonna have a quick look.”

“Be careful,” Laura gave in, “and don’t be too long.”

Isabella turned back to the forest to see that the woman had vanished. She couldn’t have gone far, though, so Isabella walked quickly towards the trees, coughing occasionally when smoke tickled her throat. But as soon as she stepped into the forest, the burning sensation stopped.

It was quiet and peaceful beneath the branches and nothing suggested that a gigantic fire was burning in the middle of the forest. Again, Isabella felt secure and at home and enjoyed listening to the sounds of the forest around her.

Isabella started to walk along a wide path. She hadn’t spotted the woman yet, but the forest would surely lead her to where she needed to go. She was sure that she would also eventually find the reason for the fire. There was a reason why the woman had called her to her and, soon, everything would come together and she would find the answers she had craved ever since she had come to Italy. There was no reason to hurry now because the revelation was inevitable.

“Hello, Isabella.”

Isabella turned around slowly to see who had spoken, but there was no one there.

“Not so fast,” the voice chuckled. “Don’t think I will reveal myself to you just yet. You have to answer a few questions first.”

“All right,” Isabella said to the thin air, feeling a bit silly.

“Did you come here out of your own free will?”

“Yes, I did,” Isabella answered, thinking that seeing the woman and deciding to follow her didn’t qualify as being forced to do so.

“Does anyone know you’re here?” was the next question.

“Yes,” Isabella answered truthfully. “Three people know that I’m here.”

“And will they be worried when you don’t return?”

“Yes, one of them will,” Isabella confirmed, thinking about the worried glance Laura had given her.

“Then we should better make this quick,” the voice stated business-like. “Do you mean us any harm?”

“Us?” Isabella repeated, looking for clarification.

“Now, Isabella, don’t play dumber than you are. You know exactly who we are,” the voice chided her.

Isabella smiled slightly at the flirty tone of voice. “I don’t mean you any harm for the time being,” she explained. “I can’t make a promise for further encounters though.”

“That will do,” the voice announced.

Isabella heard a swishing sound and something brushed her cheek. The air in front of her formed a small whirlwind made of dust and dry leaves and then the woman was standing in front of her. It was the first time that Isabella saw her this close in real life. She was stunned by her beauty. Isabella had never seen skin this clear and eyes this sharp. She would have loved to reach out and touch her, but she didn’t dare. Today, the woman was dressed in tight brown trousers and a white shirt. She looked more like a hunter than a witch.

“Hello, Isabella,” the woman said.

Isabella’s heart beat faster. “Hello,” she said and stopped when she realised she didn’t even know the woman’s name.

“I’m Florence,” she introduced herself, sensing that Isabella was looking for vital information.

“Like the city?” Isabella asked.

“Yes, like the city,” Florence confirmed. “I know, it’s a funny coincidence.”

Isabella couldn’t ask any of the obvious questions she would normally ask, like how Florence knew her name, so she said nothing.

“I’m guessing you’re here because of the fire. Did it cause a big commotion?”

“Oh yes, it did,” Isabella told her.

Florence’s eyes glinted with pleasure. “Good to hear, even though I only wanted your attention.”

“Why?” Isabella asked. “Not that I’m not flattered,” she was, “but aren’t there other ways we could have talked, ways that don’t involve you setting half the forest on fire?” Isabella was thinking about the dreams, but she was hesitant to bring them up because she wasn’t sure just how real they were and in how far Florence had influenced them.

Florence was the one to mention the dreams. “Do you mean like our talk from last night? Oh, that’s not good enough for what I want to show you.” Florence took both of Isabella’s hands into hers and squeezed them excitedly.

Isabella shivered at the contact. Florence’s skin was soft and smooth and her hands were pleasantly warm. “What do you want to show me?” she asked breathily.

“Well, you came here to investigate the fire, didn’t you?” Florence smiled at her. “So I’m going to show you the reason for it.”

Isabella followed Florence willingly, excited to finally receive some answers. While they were walking along the path (hand in hand, Florence hadn’t let go yet), Isabella glanced at Florence more frequently than strictly necessary. She knew she should be working on restraining Florence, not be walking hand in hand with her along a romantic path. But for the first time in her career, Isabella had doubts about whether she really was doing the right thing. Florence was the first witch she didn’t see as an animal that needed eradicating, but as a human being. Not once did she consider the possibility that she was under the influence of a spell. She had seen Lucia with her own eyes, she had talked to those parents; none of the girls had been forced to come to Florence. And Florence had made sure that even Isabella was there out of her own free will.

“You’re different than you are in my dreams,” Isabella remarked after a few minutes of silence. She thought of the sexual being from her first dream, and the scary appearance from the second. “You’re less … broody than I had expected, more accessible.”

“I do want to make a good impression on you,” Florence told her in a voice that sounded like a brook bubbling downstream or like the wind before a thunderstorm (Isabella couldn’t decide). “The dreams were just there to make you curious.”

Isabella thought back to her first dream, which had made her very curious indeed. “So you’re nothing like the person from my dreams?”

“I can be if I have to,” Florence clarified. “I certainly was last night.”

“What happened last night?”

“I will show you soon,” Florence said, a twinkling in her eyes. But then she turned serious. “No, actually, I will tell you now. It’s no light matter. Someone betrayed my trust and I had to punish her. She’s dead now.”

“Dead?” Isabella echoed, taken aback by the sudden change of atmosphere.

“Yes,” Florence confirmed. “We have strict rules here and if you disobey them, the punishments are harsh. Everyone knows that and they are all aware that those rules are necessary to protect us from people like you. No offense.”

“No, I understand,” Isabella assured her. “We, too, have strict rules, but nothing as harsh as the death penalty.”

“Oh, don’t you? I find that hard to believe.”

“No, we …,” Isabella trailed off. “Of course, you’re right. We wouldn’t hesitate to kill a witch.”

“And that’s why we need strict rules, to protect ourselves from you.”

Isabella didn’t know what to say to that. Normally, she would think that the witches were unnecessarily cruel (another reason why they should be hunted), and it wouldn’t occur to her that the hunters were just as cruel or even responsible for why the witches were killing their own kind.

Isabella’s thoughts were interrupted by the smell of smoke.

“We are getting close,” Florence said to Isabella. “No one should be there, but if you see any of the others, don’t worry about them. They know they’re not allowed to touch you.”

Florence led her onto a clearing. Whiffs of smoke were slowly moving across it, hiding and revealing a pyre, depending on the direction the wind was blowing in.

“Did you know that burning at the stake in the traditional death penalty for a witch?” Florence asked. “That something the witch hunters stole from us. Of course, our pyres are a bit bigger than yours; after all, they are meant as a warning, not necessarily as senseless eradication.”

“I’ve never heard of witches burning other witches,” Isabella confessed, not able to tear her eyes from the spectacle in front of her.

“That’s because it doesn’t happen often,” Florence explained, “and when we do it, we often disguise it as a forest fire.”

The fire was mostly dead now, but some smaller flames were still burning brightly. “Who did you burn?” Isabella asked, dreading the answer.

“Oh, you knew her, actually,” Florence answered. “You met her yesterday. Her name was Cati.”

Isabella remembered the blonde woman who had invited them to drinks and had persuaded her and Laura to finally kiss each other. She swallowed hard. “And how did Cati betray you?”

“It was more than one thing.” Florence looked solemnly at the smoking pile of burning wood. “It started with her not obeying curfew or going to the city when she knew it was forbidden. Of course, this isn’t reason enough to kill someone and I only reprimanded her, but then she got cocky. She brought outsiders into our group without consulting me first and I couldn’t very well send them away without exposing us, so it put me into an awkward position. Let’s just say that Cati liked fast women and fast cars. And it can be dangerous if you don’t have yourself under control. And two days ago, she made a mistake I couldn’t overlook. She meddled with my plans and put us all in terrible danger and I couldn’t forgive that.”

Isabella thought about what Florence had told her. It had seemed harsh at first, but now it did make sense. Florence was trying to protect her people, just as Isabella was trying to protect hers. However, she wasn’t so sure now if people really needed protection from witches or if it should be the other way around.

“And who were you trying to warn?” Isabella warned to know.

“Anyone who will listen,” Florence shrugged. “These are dangerous times to be a witch.”

 _Those are also dangerous time for people_ , Isabella thought before realising that she couldn’t think of a single instance when a witch had harmed a human, but she could think of many instances where people had harmed witches.

“I have to ask you something.” Isabella put her hands into her pockets and also looked at the smoking pile of wood. “Why do you take those girls?”

“I’m not taking them,” Florence told her. “They come to me out of their own free will, just like you did.”

“But you come to them in their dreams and you manipulate them to come to you,” Isabella pointed out, interpreting what Lucia had told her.

“No, I offer them an alternative to their current life and they can choose to come to me or not,” Florence corrected her.

“But why do you do it in the first place?” Isabella probed.

“Because I believe that every woman deserves to be treated fairly,” Florence answered passionately. “You won’t believe how some of them live. I’m only trying to help.”

“On our end, it looks as if you are abducting young girls and doing god knows what with them. You can’t blame the parents for wanting their children back.”

“Most of the girls are of age and they are free to do however they please,” Florence shrugged.

“All I’m saying is that you should stop,” Isabella pressed on, “or be more careful. For your own safety, at least.”

“But I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“You are a witch,” Isabella reminded her. “That, in the eyes of most people, is enough to kill you.”

“Do you think the same?” Florence looked at her, but Isabella avoided to make eye contact.

“I used to think the same, yes,” Isabella admitted, “but now I’m not so sure. You gave me a lot to think about.”

“I have to ask you something as well,” Florence started. “I must ask you not to talk to anyone about what you have seen here and about what I have told you. I know, this is much to ask of you, but I hope we can come to an understanding.”

Isabella, who didn’t feel like sharing anything with her colleagues anyway, at least not for the time being, agreed not to tell anyone of her meeting with Florence.

“Good.” Florence was smiling now; she was back to her bubbly self. “Thank you for being so understanding.” She pressed a quick kiss to Isabella’s cheek. “Shall we go back now?”

Isabella blushed and nodded.

*

The crying woman was gone when Isabella returned, as were most of the witch hunters who had come with them this morning. Some of them were still around, carrying equipment to and fro. Isabella was filled with anxiety when she saw that they hadn’t been idle. Most of the equipment was used for observational purposes, but some of it was also traps for witches. Isabella didn’t want Florence to be caught, not after what she had learned today, and she caught herself working on finding a way to contact Florence and warn her.

“Isabella!” Laura came running towards her and flung her arms around her. “I was beginning to worry about you.”

Isabella petted her back carefully. She had completely forgotten that she had had sex with Laura and had sort of promised her to be her girlfriend. Perhaps she could avoid Laura somehow and thereby also an unpleasant conversation.

“Did you find out what caused the fire?” Laura asked.

Isabella had thought up a plausible story on her way back. “Someone set fire to the forest” Isabella lied. “Maybe some parents did it to smoke out the witch, I don’t know. But it had already gone out when I got there.”

“The nerve of some people,” Laura hissed. “Someone could have died. Did the safety of their children ever cross their minds?”

Isabella couldn’t bring herself to feel bad for using the parents as an excuse. After all that Florence had told her, she knew that most of the parents, if not all, weren’t the nicest people.

“Well, some of them are obviously a bit deranged,” Isabella shrugged, thinking of the woman this morning who didn’t have herself under control.”

“Isabella, they just lost their children.” Laura shook her head. “Everyone would be upset by that.”

“I’m not so sure,” Isabella said thoughtfully. “I talked to some of the parents a couple of days ago, and it sounded as if the girls had gone with the witch out of their own free will. That makes you think, doesn’t it?”

“My, Isabella, you haven’t been a witch hunter for only a couple of weeks. They are under a spell, obviously.”

“But that’s not possible,” Roberto interjected. He had walked towards them without either of them noticing. “No witch can put a spell on so many people at once. If they were enchanted one way or another, there must be loads of witches in there.”

“Who says there aren’t?” Laura challenged him. “Perhaps we should try another raid.”

Isabella could see how Roberto blanched. “You’ve never been to the forest, have you?” he asked.

“No, but Isabella went in their twice and she’s fine.”

Isabella bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t tell them the reason why she was fine and that others wouldn’t be so lucky. “I was lucky,” she shrugged, “but look at what happened to Roberto and his men. I’d be careful with just storming in there and expecting results.”

“It’s too late today anyway,” Roberto pointed out. “Let’s just go home, shall we?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Florence makes a big mistake and Isabella tries to talk some sense into her, but Florence refuses to listen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I didn't post a chapter last week but I was sick :/ (sorry again). Also this chapter has mention of child abuse; it's just in one sentence, but still if it's triggering for anyone, read it with caution (it's mentioned when Florence tells Isabella what Nora has told her).

Roberto was torn between the dangers of the forest and the dangers of the parents. Some of them had started to protest in front of the headquarters and two fathers had attacked some of the witch hunters. One of them had ended up in hospital, while the fathers had walked away. Arresting concerned parents who demanded an answer wasn’t the best move to make in this kind of climate.

Isabella spent every waking moment at the headquarters, slowly working against the others’ efforts to catch Florence while making it look as if she was contributing to the hunt. Luckily, they were so busy that Laura had no time to talk to Isabella in private. This was one thing less to worry about.

This went on for about two weeks. No new girls were taken (or came to Florence willingly, Isabella had to remind herself), but the mood was constantly tense. Then, one day, the mayor’s daughter vanished, and hell broke loose.

The mayor spent an hour shouting at Roberto and blaming him for his daughter’s fate. Then he threatened to fire every single witch hunter and hire professionals. Roberto had to promise him not to sleep until his daughter was found.

Isabella knew that Florence had made a huge mistake. So she volunteered immediately to join a surveillance force that would keep an eye on the forest. She planned on sneaking away when no one was paying attention to her. However, Laura also volunteered to join the task force, which made disappearing unnoticed a challenge.

Observation was one of the most boring, yet most vital things a witch hunter could do. It involved days and weeks of sitting in one spot and staring at a house or, in this case, a forest. Isabella tried to avoid doing this as best as possible; she preferred to finish a mission in no longer than a couple of days and staring at a building for days on end drove her crazy. Isabella secretly suspected that this was the reason why Laura had offered to come with her – to keep her company.

The first night at the edge of the forest was the first time in weeks that Isabella and Laura were alone together. They shared a tent that was bigger than Isabella’s first flat had been. It looked like a tent from an old movie where people travelled through a desert for days. There even was a carpet. Isabella should have been happy with these luxurious sleeping arrangements, but she and Laura had to share a bed, which was a drawback for Isabella’s plan to sneak away. What was worse, Laura probably expected a repeat of their night together and Isabella could only avoid this by talking with her, which would make living together awkward.

“I thought we could have dinner together,” Laura suggested once they had settled into their new quarters. “We might even get a chance to spend some time together.”

Isabella didn’t say anything but stared at the floor instead.

“Look, Isabella,” Laura began, “I’ve had time to think, these past couple of days, and I know that you don’t like me the same way I like you and I know that our night together didn’t really mean anything to you, but I would appreciate it if we could remain friends.”

Isabella stepped closer to Laura and hugged her. “You deserve better,” she told her, “and you deserve the truth. I did like you. There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to be your girlfriend. But things have changed and I know I should never have said yes to sleeping with you in the first place because it wasn’t fair. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course I forgive you.” Laura hugged her back. “You don’t have to apologise. We all make mistakes.”

Isabella felt she didn’t deserve Laura’s kind words. After all, Laura didn’t know that Isabella was so intrigued by a witch that she couldn’t have any romantic feelings towards Laura anymore.

“We can still have dinner together if you want to,” Isabella offered.

“And you can still tell me more about this forest you so bravely survived twice.”

*

After dinner, Isabella and Laura went over to the tent in which the observation centre was located. It was staffed by three men who were busily typing down observations and looking at screens. Isabella knew that they were mostly acting for hers and Laura’s sake because it was impossible for them to be making so many observations all at once.

“You can relax,” Laura told them. “This isn’t an inspection.”

Immediately, the men relaxed and one stood up to make himself a coffee.

“Anything to report?” Laura asked.

“No, it’s been quiet this evening,” one of the men told her.

“May I asked a question, Ma’am?” the one with the coffee asked.

“Yes?” Laura prompted him.

“Why are we just guarding this tiny corner of the forest? I mean, it’s a big forest, and exciting things might happen elsewhere.”

“Because this is the part we’ve had the most success with,” Laura told him. “We also suspect that the witch’s hiding place isn’t far beyond the forest’s borders.”

The man’s eyes began to glisten. “Does this mean that we’re really close?”

“I’d say so. Wouldn’t you say so, Isabella?”

 _Uncomfortably close, yes_. “We’re getting closer every day.”

“Seeing that everything is in order here, shall we go back to our tent?” Laura asked Isabella.

“I would like to stay out here a bit longer if that’s all right,” Isabella stated.

“Sure,” Laura shrugged.

Isabella had decided not to wait any longer and try to get to Florence this evening. With all their technical equipment, it wouldn’t take long now for them to discover a weak spot or catch a witch, maybe even Florence. And now that the mayor’s daughter was missing, retaliation would be brutal.

Isabella stayed with the three men for a bit and watched the screens with them. She was relieved to discover that the readings were ordinary and completely un-magical. At least Florence did her best at hiding her house.

“I’m going to have a quick look around and then I’m going to go to bed,” Isabella told the men nonchalantly. “Good night.”

“Good night,” they mumbled in unison.

Isabella stepped outside into the warm night. She breathed in the summer air and inflated her lungs. Her goal was to look as casual as possible, as if she was making her rounds to see that everything was in order. She strolled to the edge of the forest, watching her surroundings just as if she was making sure no witches were sneaking up on them. The forest opened another entrance for her and with one glance over her shoulder, Isabella vanished between the trees.

She’d never been to the forest during the night, except for in her last dream. Normally, Isabella was scared when she was surrounded by trees in the middle of the night. She blamed it on her primary instincts but also on a healthy fear for being overpowered and killed by a witch. But today, the forest was emitting a strange glow and if Isabella hadn’t known better, she would have said that the forest was fluorescent. She had never given any thought as to why the forest was treating her so differently and she added it to a long list she needed to ask Florence.

The path led her straight on through the forest to a small cottage. She had seen it before in her first dream, but it also seemed to her as if she had been here before in real life. She quickly walked past it and on to the big house which she had also seen in her dreams.

On the meadow in front of the house stood a table. Around thirty young women were gathered around it, talking and laughing. The table was laden with exotic fruits and vegetables Isabella had never seen before and didn’t know the names of. The whole scene was illuminated by fairy lights which hung above the table. Isabella hated to intrude on such a pleasant party, but she decided this matter couldn’t wait.

At the head of the table, Isabella spotted Florence. She was dressed in a light, colourful pantsuit today and had her hair braided so it fell down her back in one thick plait. Isabella’s heart beat faster when she spotted her; her throat went dry and her palms became sweaty. She tried to dry them on her trousers and stepped forward.

Florence spotted her before she could open her mouth. “Isabella!” she shouted excitedly. “Back so soon?” Florence jumped up so quickly that her chair fell backwards. She sprinted to Isabella and flung her arms around her.

Isabella reciprocated the hug, her heart beating even faster at the contact. From close up, Isabella could see that the suit was not just colourful, but had a floral pattern.

“I’m afraid I bring bad news,” Isabella confessed. “Can we talk somewhere in private?”

“Sure.” Florence was still smiling and Isabella felt a pang of guilt.

Florence led Isabella to the entrance of the house and inside. Isabella remembered what Lucia had said, that you only got to go inside the house in the dream in which Florence told you you were allowed to join her.

Isabella had been inside old, Italian villas before and so she expected a stuffy interior, old carpets and big, antique sofas. The interior was the complete opposite of what she had imagined. It was open and minimally furnished. Florence led her into a room in which a white sofa stood on a wooden floor. White curtains hung in front of the windows. On one end stood a white shelf laden with old books.

“Please, sit.”

Isabella sat on the edge of the sofa, careful not to soil it.

“What is it that you have to tell me?” Florence asked.

“It’s about the girl you took yesterday,” Isabella cut straight to the chase. “She has to go back if you want to live.”

“Why?” Florence was genuinely confused.

“Because she’s the daughter of the mayor and he won’t rest until she is back with him,” Isabella explained briefly.

“But he’s a horrible person,” Florence interjected. “You won’t believe the things Nora told me. He abuses his wife and children and he forces her to do things she hates, so he can go on pretending he has the perfect daughter.”

“But he will kill you if he doesn’t get her back,” Isabella pleaded. “I feel sorry for the girl and I wish there was a way we could help her, but you also have to think of your own safety.”

“How can you be so indifferent to the suffering of others?" Florence criticised her. She looked furious and Isabella wondered if she should be scared of her.

“I am not,” Isabella defended herself. “I’m just worried about you.”

“That’s quite a selective consciousness you’re got here,” Florence spat. “You could have chosen to save any of the witches you brutally murdered, but no. And just because you got to know me a little bit you discovered that I’m a human, just like you. You’ve decided to spare my life. Instead, other people can suffer, can’t they?”

“No, no, you misunderstand,” Isabella tried to calm her. “Yes, it’s true that you changed my view on certain things, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the suffering of others. I think it’s amazing what you are doing here and I want to support it any way that I can. And that’s why I’ve come to warn you. Your life is in serious danger and you shouldn’t take it lightly. We’ve set up a camp just outside the forest, looking for weak spots to be able to attack you.”

“And why are you telling me this? What is it to you if we die and you get to congratulate yourself on another job well done?”

Isabella stood up from the sofa. Florence had been standing the whole time and Isabella felt the need to increase her height to be on the same level as Florence.

“I’m going to say it one more time,” she said slowly. “If you don’t return the mayor’s daughter, he will do everything he can to get her back, even if he as to kill each and every witch in the world. I came here to warn you that you and everything you have done is in danger. So please, for the sake of all of us, let her go back to her father or you will die.”

“No, we won’t,” Florence contradicted her. “Not if you don’t help them.”

“I think they can manage without me,” Isabella shrugged.

“No, they can’t, not if they keep sending those buffoons,” Florence snapped. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but men have a more difficult time entering the forest than women. So as long as you don’t help them along, they won’t stand a chance.”

“There are other female witch hunters,” Isabella insisted, although she couldn’t think of a single one she had seen here. “Laura, for example.”

“Oh, Laura, your girlfriend.” Florence sounded incredibly jealous.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but she isn’t,” Isabella told Florence. “We talked and we agreed that it’s the best if we stay friends, but nothing more.”

Florence stared at her in surprise; her anger had suddenly vanished.

“So please, just return the girl to her father and I promise you we can work something out,” Isabella begged.

What came next happened so fast that Isabella didn’t see it coming. Florence stepped closer to her until there was only a fraction of space left between them, leaned down to her and kissed her on the lips. It was a different kiss than it had been in her dream, soft and light.

“Oh,” Isabella made in surprise.

Florence flinched back. “Is this all right, me kissing you?” she asked softly.

“I’m not sure,” Isabella thought out loud. “Can you do it again?”

Florence smirked at her and complied.

The lips that met Isabella’s were still soft, but this time Florence kissed her with more passion. Isabella leaned into the kiss and sighed contently.

After some time, Florence pulled away and whispered, “Don’t worry, I don’t kiss _every_ new girl this way.”

“Am I a new girl?” Isabella giggled.

“No, you’re something different entirely.” Florence regarded her with seriousness.

“So were you just jealous of Laura?” Isabella wanted to know. “Were you so upset because you thought me and Laura are dating?”

“No,” Florence said, but Isabella knew it was only half true. “I also genuinely don’t understand how you can come here and tell me what to do.”

“I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” Isabella sighed. “I’m warning you. So please, consider what I have told you.”

“I will,” Florence gave in, “but I also have to tell you that my mind is set on keeping her here.”

“Even if it means endangering everyone?”

“Nah, we’re not in danger,” Florence said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “We’ve lived here for thousands of years; you don’t need to worry about us.”

No matter what Florence told her, Isabella was still anxious about what the mayor would do to her.

“Now, do you want to stay for a midnight snack?” Florence asked her, changing the topic.

“No, I’d better get back,” Isabella declined. “They might wonder where I am and I don’t want to give them any reason to suspect that something is out of the ordinary.”

“Why are you so scared of them?” Florence asked her. “It’s not as if they would harm you in any way.”

“They would,” Isabella corrected her, “if they knew that I was sympathising with a witch. I have seen what they do to witches, so I don’t want to know what they would do to traitors.”

Florence walked Isabella to the cottage in silence. Both of them were enjoying the last few moments they had together before they were separated again. Isabella enjoyed Florence’s company; she felt safe with her, as if nothing bad could happen to her as long as they were together.

Florence stopped next to the cottage. “I cannot go further tonight, but I am sure you will find your way on your own.”

On the spur of the moment, Isabella turned to Florence and hugged her. “I promise I’ll do everything to keep you safe.”

“That’s a big promise,” Florence smiled at her, “but thank you.”

“And please, be careful for the next couple of weeks,” Isabella implored. “Lay low for a bit until it all blows over.” _But it won’t as long as the mayor’s daughter remains with you_ , she added in her mind.

“I will try,” Florence promised, “but I still think you worry too much.”

“And you don’t worry enough.”

Florence cupped Isabella’s cheek. “I worry about you,” she admitted. “I wish there was a way I could protect you from anyone who wishes you harm.”

“I feel the same about you.” Isabella leaned into Florence’s touch. “That’s why I came here tonight. I … I know that I only met you a couple of weeks ago, but I don’t want to think about losing you.”

“Didn’t they teach you during witch hunter training that you should never fall for the witch?” Florence teaser her.

“They somehow failed to mention that,” Isabella shrugged.

“Take care, Isabella,” Florence whispered, “and I hope to see you again soon.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Isabella became a witch hunter.

To become a witch hunter had always been Isabella’s dream. She grew up in a dangerous neighbourhood where witches were regularly caught and burned at the stake or beaten up badly and left at the side of the road to die. Isabella’s mother had been terrified of witches and had passed on this fear to her daughter, who had grown up admiring the hunters.

The training to become a witch hunter lasted three years. Since it was a highly respected profession and would bring fame and money, the acceptance process was long and difficult and many an applicant failed. Isabella was well aware of this situation and she knew there was nothing she wanted more than to be a witch hunter. She started to train for the acceptance process when she was ten years old. The mother had gotten her a book for her birthday that detailed the process (it was used by applicants as preparation) and Isabella followed it to the letter.

The acceptance process came in three parts: a physical exam, a written test to measure intelligence, and something which was called a “field test” where you were sent out into the field and had to catch a witch. This was done to test your improvisational skills. There wasn’t a time limit for this task; you could take years if you needed to, but the longer it took, the less likely you were to be accepted. This was the task most of the people failed. And it wasn’t surprising. No untrained person was qualified to catch a witch.

When Isabella first started to prepare for the acceptance process, she focused on the physical test. For a ten-year-old girl, picking up sports was a fun pastime, and Isabella went swimming three times a week and played football on the weekends. She studied so much that she was top of her class every year, excelling in every course she took. Her mother, who was proud of her for wanting to be a witch hunter, supported her in every way she could, paying for extra classes that would prepare her for the acceptance process and buying her expensive witch hunter equipment she would need to catch her first witch.

When Isabella had turned 16, she graduated from school with distinction. From then on, she had two months to prepare of the physical exam. The application process started with this because the most important asset as a witch hunter was your health and your fitness. Isabella, who had spent six years preparing for this exam, stopped training altogether. In a fit of teenage rebellion, she went out every night to get drunk, not coming home for days and leaving her mother worrying about her more than once.

Isabella had spent so much time working towards her goal and had denied herself so much that, with the exam this close, she had the feeling she deserved a few weeks of freedom. To her mother’s chagrin, Isabella overplayed and did not prepare at all for the exam. It even went so far that she almost failed.

The first Wednesday in September was the date of the physical exam. It consisted of an endurance test and then the candidates had to demonstrate their skills in running, swimming, horseback riding, cycling, climbing, shooting, skiing, and hand-to-hand combat. Those trials to place in the shortest amount of time possible to weed out the weak ones.

When Isabella arrived at the test centre ten minutes too late, which was already a bad enough start, she only managed the endurance test as one of the last ones in the group. After that, she had to go to the bathroom and throw up for 15 minutes. Isabella was sure she would never make it through the next round in this condition, but admitting defeat also wasn’t an option.

The next test was hand-to-hand combat. When it was Isabella’s turn, she felt so sick that she was sure she would faint when she stood up. She stumbled onto the mat where her opponent waited for her. Before she could even raise her hands, she was punched in the stomach and fell to the ground gasping in pain. If she failed this stage, she was out and could never become a witch hunter. Her opponent then kicked her while she was on the floor, for which he was disqualified immediately.

Isabella managed to get through the first round through sheer luck; this came as a wakeup-call to her. She knew she couldn’t go on like this and expect to pass. After every three trials, the candidates were granted a short, half hour break. Isabella only had to survive swimming and cycling before she could try and get herself together.

She passed both with a barely adequate and was glad she could now stumble off to take a quick shower and eat something. After that, she felt refreshed and passed the next three trials, horseback riding, shooting, and climbing as the first one in her group. Only skiing and running was left now and Isabella felt confident that she would pass.

They were told on the same day if they were on to the next round or if they had failed. Even if you got through every round, there was still the possibility that you were sent away. Isabella was sure she had failed after the first miserable rounds, but she qualified for the next round, and she hadn’t even finished last. She had promised her friends they would go out and celebrate. However, Isabella didn’t feel like drinking alcohol and dancing all night. All she wanted to do was to go home and study for the next exam.

Her mother wasn’t as proud as Isabella had hoped. She knew that Isabella could have done much better had it not been for her lack of discipline. Isabella knew that she had almost ruined something she had worked for for the last six years. Instead of going to sleep this evening, Isabella stayed up and began to study for the next exam, which would take place in two weeks’ time.

The difficulty with the second exam, was that it tested general knowledge. However, there was no way you could know what subjects would come up. There had been years in which the topic had been Chemistry, for example, and some things which were considered general knowledge in chemistry were specialised knowledge for everyone else. The second part was an intelligence test in which they had to demonstrate their problem solving skills. Isabella was confident that she could pass this part, but the general knowledge test was dependent on which subject she would get.

On the day of the exam, she arrived an hour early, her head buried in a book, busy with last minute revision. She almost started to cry when she opened the test paper and saw that the exam was about history. This was a subject she knew everything about.

 It wasn’t surprising that Isabella finished the second part as one of the top three. The letter she received told her that they had high hopes for her and were already looking forward to welcoming her as one of their students. Isabella wasn’t as confident as they were. She knew the numbers; she knew that 80% of the applicants failed the third test. No amount of studying or training could prepare you for this task because you would only receive the necessary training once you had completed it.

Isabella hoped she wouldn’t have to look far to catch a witch. Her neighbourhood was still one with one of the highest witch densities in the country and every week, there was another burning. But when you had to go out and actually look for a witch, they were incredibly hard to find.

Isabella knew that to do in theory, but it took her almost a month to catch a witch. Those four weeks she spent hunting she had a breakdown every evening because she thought she was failing. She lost a lot of weight and sleep, constantly had a headache and snapped at everyone she didn’t like the look of.

Isabella finally caught a witch when she got a tip from one of the neighbour’s daughters. She told her about a witch who lived in an abandoned building two streets away. The witch had scared some of the neighbouring boys when they observed her beheading a rat.

Isabella got her gear together and walked down to the house which had been described to her. Her heart was beating fast in her chest and she couldn’t swallow. She was well aware that she was probably walking to her death. She secretly hoped the witch wouldn’t be home or she would fail at catching her and would be able to return at a later time.

The witch was home. A cloud of smoke was coming out of one of the windows in an otherwise abandoned house. Stealth wouldn’t help her now; the witch had a vantage point and could probably see her coming a mile off. Isabella decided to get it over with quickly and just storm the building without thinking about it much. Her books had told her that a quick attack was always the safest approach because it didn’t give the witch enough time to think of a spell she could use against her attacker.

The front door to the block of flats was open and Isabella had no trouble entering the building. She listened for any sounds, but it was dead quiet in the building. She had counted the windows and knew that she would find the witch on the third floor.

Almost all of the doors to the flats Isabella passed were either open or had been torn out of the frame. When Isabella reached the third floor, she immediately spotted were she would find the witch. An orange glow was coming from one of the doorframes. Isabella drew a gun which would dispense a tranquilliser dart. After all, her objective was to catch the witch alive. Otherwise, she would fail this test.

Years later, Isabella was still amazed at the luck she had had. It turned out later that the witch as deaf and didn’t hear her coming. Isabella was able to fire her tranquiliser dart into the witch’s back and restrain her without any resistance. She then called the school and told them to send someone.

Isabella was one of the fastest ever to catch a witch. The school was excited to welcome her as one of their students. Her mother was incredibly proud of her and offered to make every wish she had come true. Everyone saw a bright future for her and predicted she would become the best witch hunter of her age.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Isabella and Laura don't produce results quickly enough, the mayor hires a new team of witch hunters to deal with the situation.

Lying in the bed after she had returned from the forest, Isabella wondered how she had come from panicking about having dreams about the witch to letting herself be kissed by her and enjoying it.

She knew that she should just do her job, catch the witch, and be done with it. But ever since her conversation with Lucia, she had had doubts about the evil nature of the witches. And all she had seen since then had convinced her more and more that Florence was trying to help the girls she took and didn’t mean them any harm, as the people in Florence thought.

Isabella had been drawn to Florence’s world, and Florence had managed to do this without using magic. Isabella had thoroughly enjoyed being kissed by her and she hoped it would happen again soon. But she wouldn’t say she was falling in love with Florence. She was just enjoying her company and wanted to help her, fuelled by a strong sense of justice.

Isabella knew that no one would listen to her if she would start to explain that the witches were only trying to help. If she really wanted to help Florence, she would need to go about it sneakily.

The next morning, she and the others continued to observe the forest. Florence seemed to be keeping her promise to lay low. Isabella, who normally hated observation, was on edge all day long because she was scared that they would stumble upon something which would lead them to Florence. But luckily, everything stayed quiet and Isabella returned to her tent with the intention to relax.

Laura, whom she hadn’t seen all day, was already in the tent when Isabella returned. “You look tense,” she said. “Rough day?”

“Observation just isn’t my thing,” Isabella held back most of the truth.

“I’ve had quite an interesting day,” Laura told her, a strange glint in her eyes. “If you want, I can make us some tea and tell you everything about it.”

“I’d prefer wine, actually,” Isabella told her. It was still hot outside and she didn’t fancy a hot drink.

“As you wish,” Laura told her.

She went to one side of the room where a small kitchen nook had been set up. This tent was more luxurious than Isabella’s first flat had been. They even had a small fridge which Laura opened now.

“Red or white?” she asked.

“Red, please.”

Isabella sat down on a folding chair in front of a camping table. Both were made out of upmarket wood. Laura set down a glass and a bottle of red wine in front of her.

“Aren’t you having some?” Isabella asked. She wasn’t keen on drinking a whole bottle of red wine while Laura stayed sober.

“I can’t carry everything at once,” Laura told her with a smirk. She went back to the fridge and took out a chocolate mousse. Mousse and glass in hand, she joined Isabella at the table.

Isabella filled both their glasses with wine and said, “Now, you wanted to tell me something.”

Laura took a sip of her wine, for, what Isabella was sure, dramatic effect, before she revealed: “I went into the forest today.”

Isabella almost spat a mouthful of wine across the table. “You went into the forest?”

“I thought that you survived it without so much as a scratch, so it couldn’t be all that bad,” Laura went on. “And it wasn’t. I even made some progress.” She pulled out her phone from her trouser pocket and let it slide across the table to Isabella. “I took some pictures.”

Isabella cursed Florence for being so lax and not taking precautions against any sort of intruder, no matter their gender. Eagerly, she picked up Laura’s phone and looked at the pictures Laura had taken.

“As you can see,” Laura began to talk again, “they all seem to live in this big house. And it’s not protected, so we shouldn’t have any troubles organising a rescue mission.”

“But it is protected,” Isabella corrected her while thumbing through picture after picture of the villa. Luckily, no one had been outside and so Laura hadn’t managed to take a picture of Florence or one of the others. “There are curses everywhere. I’m surprised you didn’t stumble upon any of the traps.”

“Yes, I was surprised by that as well,” Laura admitted. “After what you and Roberto told me …”

“This is impressive,” Isabella forced herself to say, “but we should nevertheless be careful.”

Laura extended her hand to take the phone back from Isabella. “I know. And we will, don’t worry.” She scooped up a spoon of chocolate mousse and made a show of licking the spoon seductively. “Tell me about your day.”

Isabella swallowed hard. Was Laura trying to seduce her despite the conversation they had had yesterday? She looked down at her wine glass, suddenly regretting her choice of beverage.

“There’s not much to tell,” she told Laura. “I mostly did observation.”

“Did you spot anything interesting?” Laura wanted to know. She shifted around in her seat, so her breasts were displayed more pleasingly.

Isabella blushed and took a big gulp of wine. “Not really, no,” she tried to sidestep Laura.

“We could change that,” Laura said, opening a button on her shirt.

“Laura, what are you doing?” Isabella addressed Laura’s behaviour.

“If you have to ask that, then I’m evidently failing.” Laura did her button up again.

“I think you’re trying to seduce me,” Isabella told her, “and I don’t know why you’re doing it, especially after the conversation we had yesterday.”

“We didn’t say we couldn’t have sex, did we?” Laura pointed out.

“Laura, I don’t …” Isabella paused. “I don’t like you this way.”

“But what we did was good, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was,” Isabella admitted, “it was probably the best sex I’ve ever had. But that doesn’t mean I want to repeat it.”

“But why not?” Laura wanted to know.

Isabella bit her bottom lip so hard it hurt. She wanted to tell Laura that there was someone else in her life now, but that would raise awkward questions. Isabella hated lying, so she decided to tell half the truth.

“It would be awkward, wouldn’t it?” she asked. “Us sleeping together and all. I don’t know about you, but I find it immensely difficult to separate sex and emotions. And if we started sleeping together on a regular basis without being in a relationship, I would find it very difficult. I’m sure you can understand that I don’t feel strongly enough for you to commit to you.”

“Is this ‘I value our friendship so much I don’t want to hurt you’ or something like that?” Laura snapped.

“No,” Isabella contradicted her, “this is being honest with you. I don’t like you in a romantic way and I don’t just want to have sex with you. Yesterday you told me we could be friends.”

“Friends can have sex as well,” Laura pointed out calmly.

“But I don’t want to have sex with you,” Isabella told her outright, thinking that Laura had probably misunderstood her.

“I don’t understand you, but okay,” Laura shrugged. “Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

Isabella felt bad for disappointing Laura, but she also felt angry with her for being so undiscerning. “I’m sorry, Laura,” she forced herself to say. “I shouldn’t have slept with you.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Laura agreed, “but what’s done is done.”

“I hate this,” Isabella told her honestly. “This is why you should never have sex with someone who is close to you.”

“How do you mean?” Laura asked, taken aback.

“I mean that I admire you,” Isabella elaborated. “I think you are a brilliant witch hunter and I wanted to be like you ever since I met you. I was so glad when you paid attention to me or wanted to work with me.”

“Did you have a crush on me?” Laura asked timidly.

“Of course I had a crush on you,” Isabella confessed. “How could I not? I mean, look at you. You’re brave, you’re incredibly good at what you do, and you’re really sexy. I’ve had a crush on you for years.”

Laura blushed. “But why didn’t you say something? And what changed?”

“There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to be your girlfriend,” Isabella admitted. “But it never was the right time to say something. You were either busy with a mission or you had a girlfriend or I was sent away for months.”

“I should have said something, shouldn’t I?” Laura asked her.

“Why?” Isabella was surprised. “Do you mean …?”

“I mean I also like you and I never said something,” Laura explained, “much for the same reasons as you.”

“I guess we just missed our moment then,” Isabella shrugged.

“But I don’t want the moment to have passed.” For the first time since they had sat down, Laura averted her gaze. “So what has changed now?” she asked again.

“I don’t know.” It was only half a lie. Isabella had no idea why she had fallen for a witch when her other choice was a brilliant witch hunter who wanted to be with her. “People change, I guess.”

“But you still want to be friends with me,” Laura clarified.

“Yes, I do,” Isabella told her honestly.

“I don’t know if I can do that.” Laura emptied her wine glass in one go. “I’m not sure if I can be friends with you just yet.”

Isabella swallowed hard. She had never thought that this mission could cost her her friendship to Laura. And she hadn’t even learned that Isabella had no interest in her anymore because of a witch.

“That’s fine,” Isabella said, feeling a lump in her throat. “Take all the time you need.”

“I’m so sorry, Isabella,” Laura apologised.

“You don’t have to be sorry.”

“I might go back home tomorrow if that’s all right with Roberto,” Laura went on, acting as if she hadn’t heard Isabella.

“No, please don’t leave because of me,” Isabella asked of her.

“Well, you were the reason I came here,” Laura sighed, “so it’s only fitting you should be the reason I leave.”

“No, please.” Isabella reached out a hand to cup Laura’s which was lying on the table, but Laura drew it back. “Don’t be like this.”

“How do you want me to be?” Laura snapped. “You broke my heart, Isabella.”

“I didn’t mean to do it.” Isabella had no idea how to console Laura. She felt utterly helpless.

“I’m going to bed now, if you don’t mind.” Laura stood up and dumped her unfinished chocolate mousse into a bin. “I’ll be gone in the morning.”

*

Isabella couldn’t sleep at all that night. She listened to Laura’s uneven breathing, interrupted by quiet sobs. She knew it was only partly her fault that Laura was in this state now, but she caught herself wishing that she hadn’t come to Florence. Had she stayed in England, she would never have met Florence. She might even have been able to make this relationship with Laura work. And she wouldn’t have minded having her as a girlfriend.

Isabella had to be honest with herself: her infatuation with Florence was only temporary. It would be over as quickly as it had begun. And a relationship to a witch could never go anywhere anyway. Laura certainly was the easier choice.

When Isabella caught herself imagining a relationship with Florence, she began to panic. It was the worst possible thing that could happen, her falling for a witch. Not only would it bring shame to her Guild, it would also make her the target of witch hunters and might easily cost her her life. And was Florence really worth risking her life for?

When the first birds began to sing outside, Laura got up and began to pack the backpack she had brought with her. Isabella pretended to be sleeping; it wouldn’t do any good if she tried to talk to her now and try to convince her to stay. She turned around, so she was facing the wall of the tent, and closed her eyes. The sounds of another person moving around the tent calmed her and she felt he was drifting off to sleep.

When Roberto burst into their tent it was all the more cruel to be woken up in such a manner. Isabella could hear him draw breath to say something, but then he stopped when he spotted Laura.

“What are you doing?” she shouted. “Why are you packing?”

“I –,” Laura started.

“It doesn’t matter,” he cut her short. “Miss Summers, wake up. We need you. Both of you.”

Isabella sat up straight, her heart racing. They must have caught Florence – and now they wanted Isabella to execute her.

“The mayor has hired some sort of special forces to take over from us,” Roberto told them. “We can’t let that happen. I’ve heard of those kind of people. They just want to kill the witches; they don’t care about bringing the girls back home safely.”

Isabella sighed deeply. So Florence hadn’t returned the mayor’s daughter and now Isabella had to deal with the fallout. No matter what Florence said and no matter how safe she felt, Isabella knew that she wouldn’t stand a chance against those special forces.

Isabella looked at Laura for guidance. Her eyes were red and swollen and her hair, which usually fell to her shoulders in waves, hung in front of her face without its usual vigour.

“Let’s see what we can do about that,” Laura said, not breaking eye contact with Isabella.

Isabella really hoped that her look of concern would be interpreted as concern for the girls.

Roberto and Laura went outside to let Isabella get dressed. It was still dark, but through the thin fabric of the tent Isabella could hear a commotion going on around her. It sounded as if everyone was on their feet to get a glimpse of the newcomers.

Isabella chose her most intimidating outfit: tight, black trousers and a black shirt, which she tied around her waist with a red belt. She chose boots which went all the way up to her knees and had heels to make her look bigger. She let her hair fall down over her shoulders because she had always thought that her waves gave her a fierce look.

“There you are,” Roberto greeted her when she had finally found him and Laura.

They were standing in front of a table which had been dragged outside from one of the tents (Isabella could she the traces in the soft ground). Roberto and Laura were standing on one side, facing three men in brown and black uniforms. Two had their faces covered with motorcycle helmets while the middle one showed his scarred face.

“This is Isabella Summers,” Laura introduced her to the men.

“Ah, the famous Miss Summers,” the middle one said in a heavy Southern accent. “And yet all your fame doesn’t help you now, does it?”

Isabella was used to men not taking her seriously despite the fame she had gained. “And you must be the men who produce more civilian casualties than they catch witches,” Isabella therefore said, unimpressed.

“All for the greater good,” the man assured her. “Now, as I was telling your superiors before you interrupted so rudely, we were hired by Mr Nacar and we would appreciate it if you could let us do our job in peace.”

“And I pointed out that we will not let people who are famous for not giving a fuck about civilians try and rescue our missing girls,” Roberto added.

“And I told them we should wait for you and ask you for your opinion,” Laura finished, not looking at Isabella.

“Well, I’m with Roberto on this,” Isabella made her position clear. _Although not for the same reason as him_ , she added in her thoughts.

“I’m sure we can come to a compromise,” Laura tried to appease the parties involved.

“What do you suggest?” the American asked, leaning in closer. He was much taller than Laura and loomed over her threateningly.

Isabella tensed every muscle in her body, ready to defend Laura against this man. But Laura was able to take care of herself.

“I suggest that we work together,” Laura said calmly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She drew herself up to her full height and stared the American straight in the eye.

“I’m not working together with _that_ ,” Roberto spat.

“You be quiet,” Laura ordered.

Isabella admired her for being so calm in this difficult situation, despite still obviously being upset about their conversation from last night.

“I suggest that we form a joined task force,” Laura went on. “This way we can ensure that the mayor is satisfied and that not too many civilians are hurt.”

“We do not work together with amateurs,” the American sneered.

“Well, neither do we,” Laura remarked, “but in this case we are willing to make an exception.”

The American looked as if he was about to jump across the table and strangle Laura.

“I would be prepared to join such a task force,” Isabella offered to defuse the situation.

“Me too,” Laura told the American, “so it’s up to you if we get the girls back or if we waste precious time arguing about it.”

The American breathed in deeply. “All right,” he said, “but only if I get to lead the group.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Laura told him. “You’re not at all familiar with this case and to agree to something like that would be reckless. _I_ will lead the group.”

Isabella couldn’t help but smile at Laura’s feistiness.

The American didn’t seem used to being talked to in this way, and certainly not by a woman. He stared at Laura as if she had hit him, his mouth agape, his eyes wide in shock.

 “Well, that’s settled then,” Laura said confidently. “I suggest you gather your men together and we meet again here in 15 minutes and I will go over the plan of action with you.”

An angry blush was spreading across the American’s face, but he didn’t object to Laura’s suggestion. Instead, he nodded to his men and they turned around and went away.

“It’s strange, isn’t it,” Isabella remarked, “that the mayor would hire a group of people that’s famous for not caring about civilians to rescue his precious daughter.”

“I’m guessing he thinks that a dead daughter is better than no daughter,” Laura remarked. “I mean, what would you think?”

“I would think that there might be a reason why my daughter has left me,” Isabella shrugged. “I think I mentioned before that some of the girls go with the witch out of their own free will.”

“He might not want her back alive then,” Laura thought out loud. “If he can’t have her, then no one can; you know how silly men can be.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A raid on Florence's house goes terribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mention of rape and child abuse, so read with care.

Isabella sat crouched next to Laura and a tree, the cottage right in front of her. Florence had been too confident in her protective spells. The Americans had come prepared and had easily been able to breach the spells. Now they were all stationed around the clearing, waiting for Laura’s signal to attack. Laura’s plan was simple and straightforward: They would wait until the mayor’s daughter was spotted and would only attack if it was possible to save her life. Anyone who would be able to catch one of the witches alive would be rewarded by Laura herself.

Isabella had volunteered for this mission so she would be able to help Florence as best as she could without being recognised as a traitor by the others. It was an ambitious programme and Isabella had no idea how she would be able to succeed.

She didn’t have much time to come up with a solution to this problem because Laura tensed next to her.

“That’s her, isn’t it?” she asked, pointing at a girl who came walking to the cottage.

Isabella, who had never actually seen a picture of her, shrugged. “It could be her, yes,” she said.

Laura raised her flare gun and pointed it at the sky.

“Wait,” Isabella urged her. “Are we sure it’s safe?”

“Well, no one is around. It’s now or never,” Laura hissed.

She fired the gun and Isabella flinched, surprised by the loud sound. She watched as a red comet climbed up and then exploded into a shower of sparks. The girl flinched as well and covered her head with her hands to protect herself.

Isabella heard a loud roar echoing around the clearing and then the Americans emerged from the woods. The girl turned around in panic and then started to run towards Isabella and Laura’s hiding place.

“Quickly,” Laura urged Isabella. “Let’s go and get her.”

Isabella jumped up, her attention not on the girl but on her surroundings, looking for any sign of Florence.

Laura was a much faster runner than Isabella, so she reached the girl before Isabella. The girl tried to dodge her, but Laura gripped her arm and hold on. There was another loud bang and Isabella ducked down to get out of harm’s way. When she looked up again, the scene had changed.

Isabella gasped when she spotted Florence. She was wearing a knee-long, black dress and black boots. The look on her face was fierce and determined and for the first time, Isabella was really and truly scared of her.

“How _dare_ you?” Her voice was louder than should be possible. “How dare you invade this space and try to take what isn’t yours to take?”

Laura immediately let go of the girl’s arm, reached for her gun, and pointed it at Florence. Isabella’s heart stopped.

“I’ve been patient with you, but you crossed a line,” Florence went on, unimpressed by Laura’s gun. “Leave now or your behaviour will have consequences.”

“Let her come with us,” Laura demanded in a loud voice. She was holding the gun with two hands and nodded in the girl’s direction.

Florence hadn’t heard Laura or she had chosen to ignore her. “Leave now or you will all die.”

“Let her come with us,” Laura repeated determinately.

Isabella wanted to do something, but she was frozen to the spot, unable to move or think or speak. She couldn’t hold Laura back because that would be suspicious, she couldn’t try and catch a bullet for Florence because that would be reckless, and she couldn’t address Florence directly except to threaten her. Even worse, she was torn between helping Florence and making sure that nothing would happen to Laura and that she wasn’t killed in the process. At the moment, it looked as if Florence would win a stand-off between them.

Isabella hadn’t taken the Americans into account and their willingness to open fire at anything that wasn’t willing to cooperate. When the hail of bullets started, Isabella was carried off her feet and something pulled her towards Florence until Florence was close enough to close her fingers around Isabella’s throat. It all happened in the matter of a second, but Isabella felt as if she had experienced everything much slower.

“Stop or she dies,” Florence shouted.

Isabella’s eardrums rang and she would have covered her ears with her hands to protect them from Florence’s loud voice, but she was much too shocked by Florence strangling her to react.

“Seize fire,” Laura screamed. She sounded panicked.

The hail of bullets around them continued, but strangely enough they weren’t hit. Isabella felt how Florence tightened her grip around her throat. Her hands shot up to break open Florence’s grasp, but Florence’s fingers were like steel.

“Stop it,” Laura shouted. Her voice was breathy. “I’m your commander and you do as I say.”

The bullets finally stopped and air filled Isabella’s lungs.

“Leave now,” Florence ordered. “Leave and nothing will happen to her.”

“Please, let her go,” Laura asked of Florence.

Isabella couldn’t see her face, but she sounded as if she was crying.

“No,” Florence denied Laura’s wish. “I will keep her here as security.”

“No, please,” Laura pleaded. “Please, we will never come back. Just let her go.”

“Go,” Florence cut her short, “or I promise you to break her neck in front of her eyes.”

“No, don’t,” Isabella whispered. She wasn’t pleading for her life. She was asking Florence to stop tormenting Laura.

“Be quiet,” Florence hissed.

For the first time, Isabella was scared of Florence. She was sure that Florence would kill her to protect the other witches if Laura wouldn’t back down. Isabella was angry with herself for having thought that she and Florence could be friends. Florence couldn’t be reasoned with. She only had the interests of her own kind in mind.

“If you don’t let her go, we will kill you all.” It was the American who had spoken this time.

 “No,” Laura contradicted him. “Don’t threaten her. You’ll only make it worse.” Then she turned back to Florence. “Please, I offer you that we will never disturb you again, we will leave you in peace, just let Isabella go.”

“I don’t trust the word of a killer,” Florence spat. “Nothing tells me you won’t come back tomorrow with twice as many men. Isabella is staying here with me for security.”

“Let me go,” Isabella hissed.

“Leave now or Isabella will die,” Florence threatened.

Isabella could feel how Florence’s fingers tightened around her throat and she gagged. Behind her, Laura sobbed.

“Leave them,” Laura ordered. “There is nothing we can do here.”

“But –,” the American tried to interject.

“Let’s go,” Laura said determinately.

Isabella heard movement behind her and could guess that everyone had decided to listen to Laura. Still, Florence’s grip around her throat was as strong as ever. Isabella tried to struggle against it, but Florence didn’t give in.

“Leave or the last thing Isabella will see is my face as I crush her throat.”

“If you harm her in any way, I will kill you.” Laura had stopped crying. “I will kill you and burn this wretched place to the ground.”

Florence smiled a dangerous smile. “We’ll see about that.”

Isabella heard a rushing sound behind her and then she was dropped to the ground. The mayor’s daughter rushed to Florence’s side, hugged her, and started to sob into her dress.

“Nora, don’t cry, they’re gone, it’s over.” She hugged the girl tightly and petted her on the back.

Isabella opened her mouth to shout at Florence, but closed it again when she saw how distraught and upset the girl was. Instead, she remained kneeling on the floor, unsure what would happen to her should she dare to move. From what Florence had said to Laura, she wasn’t free to go, but Florence had never kept her here against her will.

Florence gestured two other women who were standing close by regarding the scene reservedly to come to her. “Take her,” she told them. “Calm her down. Be nice to her. I have things to do.”

Both women glanced at Isabella and Isabella could feel herself blush, whether it was with shame or anger, she couldn’t tell. The women took one of Nora’s hand each and walked with her towards the house.

“Isabella.” Florence extended a hand to her.

Isabella ignored her hand and stood up on her own. She glared at Florence, daring her to make a move against her.

When Isabella ignored Florence’s hand, Florence’s face hardened. “You aren’t free to leave.”

“I figured.” Isabella still glared at her. She wanted to demand answers from Florence, but she didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. “Do you want to chain me up?” She extended her wrists to Florence.

Florence shook her head. “No, I trust you not to leave. And you couldn’t anyway if you tried.”

“Why?” Isabella asked.

“Because the forest does as I want it to,” Florence answered.

“I mean, why did you pick me? Why didn’t you just let that girl go?” Isabella clarified. Florence’s coldness made her so angry she couldn’t help but confront her.

“Would you have liked me to pick someone else?” Florence asked her. “I could’ve picked Laura, but she wouldn’t have survived the night.”

“You don’t think ahead,” Isabella snapped. “You just do things and justify them with whatever cause you think will make people want to support you.”

“You have no idea what you are talking about,” Florence hissed.

“I have seen enough.”

“You have seen nothing.”

Florence was angry again. The ends of her hair sizzled with electricity and a shadow fell over her face. Every fibre in Isabella’s body screamed for her to run away, but she remained standing. A small part of her still believed that Florence wouldn’t harm her.

“Come with me,” Florence ordered suddenly.

She walked towards the house. Isabella followed her; she promised herself that she wouldn’t let her mind be changed by whatever Florence was about to show her. She wouldn’t fall for whatever tricks Florence would use to convince her that what she was doing was right and that the end justified the means.

“Nora, meet Isabella.”

Florence rushed into the living room Isabella had seen when she had tried to talk to Florence only a couple of days ago. The two women from earlier were sitting to either side of Nora. Nora was still crying and looked at Florence out of red, swollen eyes. Isabella and Nora stared at each other in confusion.

“Nora, this is Isabella. She thinks that I should send you back to your father. She thinks she knows what she is talking about and that it’s in everyone’s best interest that you go back.”

“No, you can’t send her away,” the woman to Nora’s right shouted.

“Calm down, Lisa, I’m not going to send her away,” Florence assured her. “I want Nora to tell Isabella why she can’t go back.”

Nora shook her head. “No, please,” she sobbed, “please don’t make me tell her.”

“She has to learn the truth,” Florence implored her. “She doesn’t believe me and thinks I’m a child with a god-complex.”

“You’re certainly acting like a child right now,” Isabella pointed out.

“Tell her,” the woman to Nora’s right whispered, “and I’m going to tell her my story.”

Nora was shaking, but she nodded. Isabella was suddenly scared of what Nora had to tell her.

“You do know that my father beats and rapes me, right?” Nora told Isabella bluntly.

“No,” Isabella admitted, shocked by this revelation. Florence had only told her that Nora’s father was abusive, but she hadn’t given it any more thought than that.

“Of course not. I don’t blame you. Nobody ever wants to know.” Isabella was shocked by how indifferent she sounded. “Except for Florence. Florence listened to me.”

“Couldn’t you go to the police?” Isabella wanted to know, her faith in this institution untainted, probably because she worked in a similar environment.

Nora just laughed into her face. “And tell them that the mayor is abusing me? I don’t think so.”

Isabella tried to put herself into Nora’s shoes, but she simply couldn’t. “And how did Florence help you?”

“She offered me a way out. She told me I could come and live with her if I wanted to. She promised me no one would find me here and I would be safe.”

“But didn’t it occur to you that your father would do anything to get you back?”

“Of course it occurred to me,” Nora sighed, “but I thought I’d be safe here.”

“There must be something we can do,” Isabella thought out loud.

“I _am_ doing something,” Florence pointed out.

“Something _legal_ ,” Isabella added.

The woman Florence had addressed as Lisa snorted. “Because we need to listen to a witch killer telling us about what is legal and what not.”

Isabella opened her mouth to shoot something back, but then she realised that Lisa had a point. “No, you’re right,” she admitted.

“So you see it now?” Florence looked at her expectantly.

“Yes, I can understand why you helped Nora, but I’m still not sure why you took so many other girls.”

“We all have similar stories,” Lisa said.

“Or most of us do,” the woman Isabella didn’t know the name of added.

“Yes, I was forced to go to Catholic school by my father because I’m gay,” Lisa said, “and they tried to _cure_ me. But Florence took me away from there and told me that I do not have to hide here and that I can love whomever I want.”

“I don’t have a story like that,” the other woman said. “I’m just here because I was bored at home.”

“So you try to help girls who have been abused?” Isabella clarified.

“Yes,” Florence confirmed. “Or I take girls in who want to become witches. So you see now that I’m not just making things up to justify childish behaviour?”

“And then you come along and ruin everything,” Lisa accused Isabella. “You and your witch killers are trying to take away the only chance we have of a normal life.”

Isabella wondered how many lives she had ruined during her missions and how many innocent people she had killed. For a few short moments, she panicked at the thought of having taken so many lives without knowing the whole story.

“Will you help us?” Nora asked suddenly.

“You don’t want the help of _her kind_.” Lisa spat on the floor.

“Manners,” Florence warned.

“But she knows what the witch hunters will do,” Nora said.

“Witch killers,” Lisa corrected her.

“Yes, killers, whatever, but she will be able to help us. She knows what they will do next, she knows what they are thinking. So will you help us?”

Isabella suddenly felt nauseous and nervous. She thought of the life she had built for herself over the last ten years, she thought of all the friends she had made, she thought of Laura who had begged for her life not an hour ago, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to give up this life. Then again, she made a living from killing women who didn’t seem to hurt anyone. Florence helped women where the law or their parents failed them. And Isabella was part of an organisation that tried to kill Florence and drag the others back to lives they despised.

“There isn’t a lot I can do, really,” Isabella said slowly. “The only thing we can do is to hope that Florence gave them enough of a fright that they will stay away. But those Americans are ruthless and I’m not sure Laura will manage to keep them out for long. And they got in here once, they will do it again.”

“What if I went back?” Nora asked.

“No!” Lisa shouted.

“It’ very brave of you to offer that, but I think it’s too late for that.” Isabella smiled at her. “They would kill everyone anyway, just out of revenge. I mean, the Americans would. Laura and Roberto would keep their word not to harm anyone when Nora agrees to come back.”

“What if I were to hand myself over?” Florence suggested suddenly.

Everyone in the room, including Isabella, shouted, “No!”

“They would make a big show out of killing you, it would be long and tedious and unnecessarily cruel and you would leave everyone here without protection. You can’t hand yourself over.”

Florence smiled for the first time today. “Don’t worry, Isabella, I’m not going to do it. But it’s nice to know that you care so much.”

“I -,” Isabella began, but broke off. Yes, the thought of Florence being killed by witch hunters made her feel sick and helpless. But admitting to herself and in front of others that she wanted a witch to live came close to treason in her eyes. But what had she been doing in Florence all this time if she didn’t want Florence to live?

“I know.” Florence smiled at her knowingly. “So what do you suggest?”

“You should tighten the security precautions,” Isabella said immediately. “Also against women. If Laura can come to the house without any problem, others can too. She might even lead the men here. Those Americans are tough.”

Florence didn’t look happy with Isabella’s suggestion, but nodded.

“And I would refrain from taking new girls for quite some time now,” Isabella added. “The best thing we can do is sit here and wait for it to blow over. I wouldn’t count on it though. The mayor is _very_ determined, as are the Americans.”

“So I have to make the spells so strong that absolutely no one will be able to come through to us?”

Isabella nodded.

“I can help you with that,” Lisa offered immediately.

“You still have much to learn, I’m not sure if you’re strong enough yet.” It didn’t sound as if Florence was declining her help as a strict teacher would decline a student she thought not good enough, but it sounded as if Florence was genuinely concerned with Laura’s strengths and weaknesses.

“I want to help,” Lisa stated.

“Me too,” the other woman offered.

“There will be enough to do for everyone,” Florence calmed them. “The first thing we’re going to do is to call everyone together and to hold a meeting. The others need to know what’s going on.”

“We can call everyone together,” Lisa said immediately.

Florence smiled at her. “You do that. Isabella, you are going to stay with me. I have to introduce you to everyone.”

Isabella nodded. She was a bit nervous about the prospect of being faced with a room full of witches and she still didn’t feel comfortable about betraying the witch hunters, despite everything she had learned these past couple of weeks. It didn’t help that, when Lisa walked past her, she whispered, “I’m going to keep an eye on you.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A background chapter on Isabella and Laura.

Isabella was introduced into the Guild as one of the youngest members ever. She had had no trouble finding someone who would write her a recommendation for the Guild. The short exam she had to take in order to be accepted was only a formality.

After her success at school and the honour that had been bestowed upon her, Isabella had difficulties accepting that it was hard for a woman to make a career in this male-dominated field. The men she worked with looked down on her and treated her like an outsider while the women she came into contact with expected her to proof herself first.

For the first two years, Isabella did night shifts, observations, and office work – she had to listen to the sexist remarks from both her male and female colleagues. It was difficult for her to understand why she had such troubles all of a sudden when everyone in school had told her that she was one of the best students ever. When men who had been in the bottom half of her year were promoted while she was still stuck with beginners’ tasks, she began to doubt her abilities as a witch hunter.

Everything changed when it was time for the annual Guild dinner party. It was Isabella’s third one since joining the Guild and her fourth one overall. It was the first year she didn’t have to sit at a table in the back with all the newcomers, but was moved further to the front.

Isabella sat next to the only woman who had been admitted to the Guild the same year as her. She didn’t like her much, but she was the only familiar face around.

Isabella knew that a new Guild Leader would be announced, since the old one had died of a heart attack a couple of months ago.  She knew that who would be picked as the new leader wasn’t relevant to her work, but she nevertheless felt nervous about seeing who would be her new leader for the next twenty or thirty years.

This was the evening Isabella saw Laura for the first time. She was sitting two table over from Isabella, and Isabella hadn’t paid attention to her when she had come in and sat down. But after the dinner, there was always a series of thank you-speeches from everyone who was at the top of the Guild and that was when they announced who the new Guild Leader would be.

Isabella expected an older man, probably in his mid to late 50s, to be made the new leader. Usually, the people who were made leader had a long history of successful witch hunting and were older men. Isabella had never been there when a new one had been announced because there was only ever a new one when the old one died and since the leader seldom worked in the field, their life expectancy was quite high.

What Isabella didn’t expect was a woman called Laura Harris, around ten years her senior, wearing an expensive suit and walking up to the podium confidently when her name was called. Isabella knew her by sight; there weren’t many women in the Guild and you tended to at least have heard of the others.

Isabella didn’t know much about Laura. She knew that Laura was considered one of the best witch hunters and when Isabella had first started, people had told her that if she wanted to make it as a witch hunter, she should take Laura as an example. Now Isabella could understand why everyone had said that to her. Laura was the first-ever female Guild Leader, a position Isabella hoped to occupy herself in future.

The next time Isabella saw Laura was the next morning. She was walking along the corridor when she met Laura, who was carrying a big box, evidently busy with moving to a new office. Laura made eye contact with Isabella, raised both eyebrows, smiled, and mouthed, “Oh hello.” Isabella blushed and nodded in Laura’s direction, but couldn’t say anything. This was the first time that someone higher up in the ranks had noticed her.

*

They were sitting pressed next to each other in a small cupboard under a flight of stairs. Isabella clutched her gun and was panting slightly. Both she and Laura had just sprinted into the house to take cover.

Laura gripped Isabella’s arm. “You have to calm down,” she whispered. “Otherwise they’ll find us.”

“I am calm,” Isabella panted. “Just a bit out of breath.”

“You need to train more often.” Laura nudged her in the ribs. “More sports, less crisps.”

Isabella huffed in mock-offense. “I’m very fit, thank you very much.”

Isabella couldn’t see Laura’s face, but she could hear the grin in her voice. “I’m sure you are.”

“Not all of us have so much free time at our hands that we can train all day,” Isabella teased her.

“Your occupation should be your training,” Laura told her wisely.

Isabella tried to come up with a witty comeback, but then she heard a sound beyond the door behind which they were hiding.

“Did you hear that?” she hissed into Laura’s direction.

Laura nodded.

Isabella disengaged the safety on her gun. There was a small gap between the door and the floor and in the dim light outside, Isabella saw a shadow move past. Her heart began to move faster.

Next to her, she could feel Laura rummaging around in her pocket. She pulled out a small butterfly knife, her weapon of choice. Isabella preferred a gun and thought that it was the most humane way to hunt a witch. She hated catching a witch and handing her over to her superiors because they then proceeded to burn her at the stake, which must be one of the most painful ways to die. Laura, on the other hand, excelled in hand-to-hand combat and enjoyed matching herself with the witches. Needless to say that Laura had yet to lose a fight.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Laura whispered. “Can you make out anything?”

Isabella tried to peak out the ventilation gap, but she could only see the doorframe opposite their hiding place.

“No one’s right in front of the door,” Isabella told Laura, “but for the rest of the house? Who can tell?”

“No need to get cheeky with me.” Laura pinched Isabella’s butt cheek. Isabella had to suppress a squeak.

“Be quiet,” Laura reprimanded her.

“Well, you are the one who can’t keep her hands off me,” Isabella hissed.

“Be quiet.” Laura sounded dead serious all of a sudden.

Isabella could hear it too. There was a distinct scratching sound at the door.

“She’s outside,” Laura whispered, staring at the door determinately.

Isabella bit her lip in concentration. She loved seeing Laura in witch hunter mode.

“Do you want me to …?” Isabella raised her gun.

“Can you do it without hurting us?”

“I should think so, yes.”

Isabella knew that it was incredibly dangerous to fire a gun at such a close range, but she had managed more difficult shots like this one before. Shooting was what she was good at; everyone told her so and some even requested private lessons.

“Cover your eyes,” Isabella told Laura, just to be on the safe side.

Laura did as she was told and Isabella aimed at a spot slightly to the left of the doorknob and fired.

She hadn’t counted on the flash that inevitably came with discharging a gun, amplified by the darkness around them. The sudden white light blinded Isabella momentarily and she swore loudly.

Laura, who had covered her eyes as Isabella had told her, as a precaution against debris rather than flashes, exclaimed excitedly: “You hit something, Isabella.” She pushed herself up and scrambled out of the cupboard, while Isabella rubbed her eyes.

“Stop,” someone shouted.

Isabella crawled after Laura and blinked to see who had shouted. It was Laura’s second in command, who had been in charge of the exercise they had just completed.

“You managed it,” he said, petting Isabella on the back.

Isabella sneezed because dust from the broken door was tickling her nose.

“Now, who wants to tell me what you did wrong?” Frank asked.

Isabella cringed inwardly. She didn’t like Frank very much because he always talked down to Laura, as if he was the Guild Leader and she as the second in command. But Laura didn’t mind; she liked to keep things informal.

“We shouldn’t have hidden in the cupboard that long,” Isabella mumbled.

“Any why not?”

“Because it makes it easier for the witch to cast a spell and trap us,” Laura answered immediately.

“Exactly.” Frank smiled. Isabella thought it looked condescending. “It’s always best to face a witch head-on, especially if you have a gun, like Isabella does.”

Isabella had the sudden urge to hit Frank, but she just smiled at him. “Well, the exercise wasn’t very well planned out, was it? No witch would pursue two trained and armed witch hunters down a street through an empty house. Well, a suicidal witch would, maybe.”

“I don’t know where you live, but where I grew up, such behaviour was common practice,” Frank shrugged.

“Actually, I grew up in one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Britain,” Isabella corrected him, “and our witches never did that.”

“Well, we have to agree to disagree then,” Frank nodded. “Different cities, different witches, I guess.”

Isabella still thought that the exercise had been stupid, but she decided not to argue about it with Frank. Instead, she turned to Laura. “Do you want to get that drink now?”

“Sure.” Laura smiled at her excitedly. It was a long-held tradition that they had a drink after every mission or exercise they completed.

*

Laura loved to date people. When she was first made Guild Leader, she had a boyfriend who sometimes visited her at work. But Laura quickly broke up with him because he had gotten too clingy for her taste. After she had been made Guild Leader, she didn’t have as much free time as she used to and her boyfriend didn’t take kindly to it.

For the first few years that Isabella worked with Laura as her Guild Leader, Laura seemed to spend most of her time in the office or on a mission. Isabella knew about the partners of most people with whom she worked closely together, but with Laura she could never tell for sure.

At first, Isabella had no reason to be curious about Laura’s relationship, but after some time, she began to develop feelings for her, not more than a crush at first. But still, whenever someone was close to Laura, she tried to find out what their relationship was exactly.

Isabella first learned that Laura liked women as well as men when she interrupted Laura and a woman in Laura’s office. The woman was sitting in Laura’s chair and Laura on the table and they were making out. Isabella apologised and stepped outside. When Laura finally called her into her office, Isabella was still blushing and couldn’t look at Laura directly.

From then on, Isabella began to notice whenever Laura had a new girlfriend. She wondered if she had only never noticed it before because she had assumed that Laura was straight. And Laura had new girlfriends very frequently. Isabella often wondered why that was the case because Laura always seemed so in love one day and was single again the next. Isabella blamed the job because it was very difficult to maintain a relationship if you had such irregular working hours and could be killed any day. For Isabella, it had been impossible to keep a relationship going since she had started working for the Guild.

Sometimes, she imagined herself in a relationship with Laura and her heart began to beat faster. She was sure that she could make it work with Laura. They had the same background and the same occupation, they knew what it meant to be a witch hunter.

There was one time, after about three years of working together with Laura, that Isabella finally got up the courage to ask Laura to be her girlfriend. She wrote her a cheesy letter and wanted to ask Laura for a meeting and then give it to her. But then Laura telling her that she had a new girlfriend kept Isabella from saying something, even though the relationship was over two weeks later.

Isabella was usually the first person Laura told about a new girlfriend, which made Isabella hold back her own feelings. She was sure that Laura thought of her as her best friend; otherwise, she wouldn’t confide in her so much. And Isabella still didn’t know why Laura’s relationships always were so short, so she didn’t want to risk this confidentiality.

Isabella’s crush never went away, not really. Whenever she thought she was over Laura, Laura did something that reminded her why she’d had a crush in the first place. Over the years, it became so normal to her that she didn’t even notice it much and she just went on with her life.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella stays at Florence's house and gets to know Florence better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to post this yesterday, but there were things I needed to do. Thank you for your patience and sorry for the short delay.

The first night went by smoothly. Isabella was assigned a small room on the ground floor where she could sleep relatively isolated from the others. Florence’s announcement and the following discussion went smoothly, considering the circumstances. The other women had no problem with the prospect of defending their home or fighting to protect Nora. But they were wary of Isabella’s presence and neither Isabella nor Florence could blame them. Florence told them to trust Isabella and that she was there to help them, but they still saw her as a witch hunter (or killer). Isabella knew that they would only trust her if she would openly defend the witches in battle.

Isabella was too wired to go to sleep and sat on her bed instead, staring off into space. She still couldn’t get the sound of Laura begging for Isabella’s life out of her head and she wished there was some way she could contact Laura and tell her that she was all right and that she was working on resolving this situation as peacefully as possible. But even if Florence was to agree to Isabella sending Laura a message, Laura would still think that it was some sort of trick on Florence’s part. That was Witch Hunting 101.

Isabella knew she was doing the right thing here, but she also had a bad conscience when thinking about her colleagues. She couldn’t care less about the Americans, but Laura and also Roberto would change their point of view if the situation was explained to them properly. Especially now Isabella felt like stabbing her friends in the back.

Before her thoughts could become too dark and she would lose herself in self-pity, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Isabella said more quietly than she had intended.

It was Florence in dark-red silk pyjamas that looked completely out of place.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” Florence said. She had closed the door, but hadn’t moved further inside the room, as if she was waiting for a formal invitation from Isabella.

“No, I couldn’t sleep,” Isabella told her. “Is something the matter?”

“No, no,” Florence shook her head. “I just wanted to ask you how you were doing. I know this day was difficult for you.”

Isabella smiled. She couldn’t help but feel happy that Florence had decided to come and check up on her. “I feel much better now that I’m wearing this,” she pointed at her flowery nightgown, “and I’m safe and sound in this bed.”

“But how do you feel about what happened earlier? You were pretty angry.” Florence didn’t move away from the door. “With me.”

Isabella still didn’t feel like being best friends with Florence, but she was much more relaxed than she had been this morning. “I’m not angry with you anymore if this is what you want to know. It’s just a lot to take in and a lot of change in a short span of time.”

“I’m sorry that I … that I choked you earlier and that I was mean to you.” Florence sounded genuinely upset.

“It’s nothing.” Isabella touched her throat which still hurt. She had regarded her neck earlier in the mirror and there were little blue spots that Florence’s fingers had left on her skin. “I’ve had worse.”

“But I never wanted to hurt you, you know that, right?”

“Yes, of course.” This morning, she hadn’t been so sure but after what had happened after that, she had realised that Florence had only the girl’s best intention at heart. “You were trying to protect them.”

“This still doesn’t excuse hurting you.”

“I’m used to it,” Isabella told her. She meant it as a joke, but it sounded more serious than she had intended.

Florence suddenly looked grief-stricken.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Isabella corrected herself quickly. “I meant it wasn’t the first time I received a minor injury in the field.”

Florence still looked worried and closed her hands into fists before opening them again.

“You can come and look at my neck and see for yourself,” Isabella invited Florence.

Florence bolted forward as if she had only been waiting for Isabella to say something along those lines. In no time, Florence was sitting next to Isabella on the bed and raised her hand to touch Isabella’s neck.

“See, it’s nothing,” Isabella said.

“No, I left marks on you.” Florence stroked Isabella’s neck. “May I heal it?”

“There is no need, really,” Isabella assured her. “But if it makes you feel better, go ahead.”

Her neck tickled briefly and then the tension was gone and she felt more relaxed than she had in months.

“That feels amazing, actually,” she told Florence.

Florence removed her fingers from Isabella’s neck and Isabella’s skin tickled where she had touched her. She smiled. “I hope you’ll be able to sleep now.”

“I’m sure I will. Thank you.” Before Isabella could change her mind, she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Florence’s cheek.

Florence blushed and stood up. “Good night, then, Isabella. If you should need anything, just say my name. I will hear you.”

“Thank you,” Isabella said again. It felt good to know that she could go to sleep without having to worry about anything.

Florence walked to the door and smiled back at Isabella. “Don’t worry too much about betraying anyone. It might look like it now, but the feeling will pass. Trust me, I know.” And with that, she was gone.

*

Isabella woke up from a dreamless sleep and felt better than she had in months, maybe even years. It was another hot summer’s day and normally she would have woken up with the linen stuck to her body because she was sweating, but today a light breeze was caressing her body and her hair. She stretched and got up from the bed. Somehow, someone had brought her breakfast which was waiting for her on a small table by the window. The coffee was still steaming hot.

Isabella sat down and looked out of the window. She could see a backyard that was surrounded by a small wall. There were exotic plants growing in the garden (Isabella didn’t know the names of any of them) and she imagined that they would be used for spells and potions. No one was outside, but Isabella could hear insects, cicadas and bumblebees. It didn’t feel like she was in any kind of danger. If anything, she felt like she was on holiday here.

Again, there was a knock on the door, and again when Isabella said, “Come in,” it was Florence.

“Did you sleep well?” Florence wanted to know.

This time, she didn’t remain standing by the door, but came further into the room, still keeping a respectful distance to Isabella.

“Yes, very well.” Isabella smiled at her. “Do you want to sit down?”

Florence nodded and joined Isabella at the table. “Any bad dreams or anything?” she wanted to know.

“No, nothing,” Isabella told her. “I haven’t slept so well in years.”

“No more pain from your neck?”

Isabella shook her head.

“That’s good.”

Isabella wanted to pretend just for a little bit longer that everything was all right, but she couldn’t bring herself to ignore the pressing matter at hand.

“I hate to ask,” she began, “but is there any news?”

“No, nothing,” Florence told her. “So far, Laura seems to be keeping her word.”

“It’s not Laura that I’m worried about,” Isabella sighed. “It’s the Americans.”

“Last night, I reinforced the spells around the clearing and also in the forest. No one should be able to get through to us now.”

“I hope so,” Isabella said grimly. “Not that I’m doubting your abilities as a … a witch, but those Americans …”

“I know,” Florence finished for her. “They’re ruthless.” She smiled at Isabella. “But so are you. Or ruthless isn’t the word I would use to describe you. Let’s say relentless, that’s a good word.”

Isabella snorted with laughter. “Relentless? No one has ever used this word to describe me.”

“No, but you are,” Florence went on. “You know exactly what you want and how to get it. Remember when you came to me and asked me to release Nora? Not many people would have dared to do that.”

“It was important, wasn’t it?” Isabella said instead of, _Well, I didn’t want you to come to any harm_.

“It was important to you. No one else would have bothered,” Florence pointed out. “It would have been much easier if you had just caught me and handed me over to the authorities. And then you could have brought back Nora and be celebrated a hero.”

“But it wouldn’t have been right.”

“You had no doubts about right and wrong before, I assume.”

Isabella couldn’t believe they were having this discussion again and refused to be a part of it. Instead, she picked up her coffee mug and gestured for Florence to continue.

“I mean,” Florence cleared her throat, “why now? Why have you suddenly decided to care for witches instead of killing them?”

“You changed my mind, actually,” Isabella told her, raising an eyebrow.

“Have none of the other witches ever begged for their lives?”

Isabella swallowed hard. “You didn’t beg for your life.”

“Oh, so that’s the reason. I _didn’t_ beg for my life and that’s when you realised I was a human being as well.”

“No, that wasn’t what happened,” Isabella protested. “Why are you suddenly so resentful?”

“I’m not resentful,” Florence said. “I just genuinely want to know what suddenly changed your mind.”

“I told you before, you showed me what you were doing and took the time to explain what was going on, and I thought about it and saw that you were right,” Isabella said quickly.

“Excuse me if I find that hard to believe. Your convictions as a witch killer couldn’t have been all that great if you changed your mind as soon as someone said three sentences to you.”

Isabella bit her bottom lip. “It’s because _you_ talked to me,” she confessed.

“And what is so special about me?” Florence wanted to know.

“I don’t know,” Isabella shrugged. “I was really scared of you at first. When you appeared in my dreams and then in person in Florence I thought I was going crazy. But then I began to trust you, I’m not quite sure why. Maybe because you made sure I did everything out of my own free will and you didn’t jinx me.”

“Were you often jinxed by witches?”

Isabella thought long and hard about this question, but couldn’t think of a single time. “No, not really.”

“So what was different with me?”

Isabella didn’t want to give her the real reason, so she decided to turn the tables. “Why do you want to know the reason? Why are you trying to get to know a witch hunter?”

“Because I know that you aren’t what you seem to be,” Florence answered in the vaguest way possible. “I know there is good in you and I wanted to show you that witches aren’t the bad people here.”

“Any why did you choose me? I mean, there are other witch hunters who sometimes question if they are doing the right thing. Even here in Florence there had to be someone.”

“I didn’t just want anyone. I wanted you.” Florence looked at Isabella like she had never looked at her before, not as if worlds were separating them, but as if she was craving closeness. “You entranced me as soon as you set foot in Florence. And I wanted to get to know you; that’s why I sent you the dreams.”

“But what did I do to deserve your attention?” Isabella was confused. She hoped the conversation would lead to Florence admitting she was infatuated with Isabella, but she also tried not to get her hopes up.

“I don’t know.” Florence looked pained now. “Don’t you sometimes get the feeling when you see someone that there is something special about them and that you would like to get to know them?”

Isabella wanted to ask if Florence was talking about love at first sight, but she didn’t want to tease her, so she simply said, “Yes, I sometimes get that feeling.”

“And wouldn’t you do anything to get to know this person?”

Isabella shrugged. “I guess it depends on the person.” She thought of Laura and how she had never said anything to her in all those years.

“Well, I _needed_ to get to know you,” Florence said dismissively. “You fascinated me instantly.”

“But why? You know nothing about me.”

“And you know nothing about me and yet here we are,” Florence shrugged.

“I know things about you. For one thing, you’re a witch.”

“And you’re a witch hunter. Do you think that’s enough to go on?”

“Enough to go on for what?” Isabella’s throat was suddenly dry.

“I think you know what.”

Isabella began shaking with expectation. She couldn’t help it; she couldn’t keep her hands still and a cold shudder was running down her back.

Florence covered Isabella’s hand which was holding the coffee mug with her own and looked into Isabella’s eyes. She leaned forward a fraction, her lips slightly parted. She waited for Isabella to close the rest of the way, but Isabella just stared at her in disbelief. Did Florence really want to kiss her? They had shared kisses before, but nothing that felt as official as this. Isabella wanted to kiss her, but she couldn’t move and she knew that if she didn’t move soon, Florence would change her mind. Florence leaned in a bit further and her movement broke the spell Isabella was under. She glanced at Florence’s lips and closed the space between them.

It was nothing like their previous kisses. It was long and lingering and Isabella focused on the feeling of Florence’s lips against hers and later her tongue and Florence leaning into the kiss and making a pleased sound. Florence removed her hand from Isabella’s and raised it to put it on Isabella’s neck, similar to as she had done yesterday. But this time it was caressingly and softly and Isabella leaned into the touch.

When they broke apart, Florence was smiling broadly.

“What?” Isabella asked. She was also smiling.

“Your lips are really soft.”

Isabella blushed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella spents a day at Florence's house and learns what it is like to be a witch.

The day flew by in a haze of sunlight and laughter. There were moments when Isabella completely forgot why she was here and what was going on beyond the border of the forest.

After breakfast, Florence showed Isabella the house and the grounds. The house was wide and open, and every room was furnished in white and earth colours. Isabella didn’t see any of the other girls except one or two who quickly ducked into a room where Isabella heard them giggle.

“Don’t mind them,” Florence told her, but she was smiling.

Isabella was impressed the most by the teaching rooms, which Florence used to teach those who wanted to learn magic. She told Isabella that everyone could become a witch, even if you were born completely without magic. You wouldn’t become as powerful, but you could make a living as a witch, if there was any living to be made from it.

The rooms looked a lot like school rooms, only the tables were long and solid and covered with pot plants, and Isabella noticed that they didn’t use paper but small slates. She had to admit that she was rather intrigued.

“Could I listen to a lesson sometime?” she asked.

“If you want to. It’s not that interesting though.” Florence couldn’t stop smiling. “Mostly boring stuff.”

“No, I’m sure it’s fascinating. I would love to learn some of the things you teach them.”

“All right. I can give you a private lesson if you want.”

Isabella blushed again. “Now?”

“If you want to.” Florence closed the door and as soon as she did so, the windows swung open, allowing a warm, summerly breeze inside. “Sit down.”

Isabella sat down at the end of the second row. Florence walked to the front of the classroom. She turned to Isabella, hands behind her back, and focused on a point somewhere on the back wall.

“The most important thing to keep in mind when you want to be a witch is that you realise that magic isn’t something you can control. You can only use it but if you want to do something the magic doesn’t like, it won’t work.”

“So magic is like a sentient being?” Isabella asked.

“No interrupting,” Florence snapped, sounding very much like a strict teacher. “If you have a question, raise your hand.”

Isabella did as she was told.

“Yes, Isabella?”

“So magic is like a sentient being?” Isabella repeated.

“No, not at all,” Florence corrected her. “It is an ancient force and no mortal should assume they are powerful enough to control it.”

Isabella couldn’t quite wrap her head around what Florence had just told her, but she nodded nevertheless.

“I can give you an example,” Florence went on.

She raised both hands and made a random set of gestures that looked completely arbitrary to Isabella. Sparks formed around her fingers and then Florence released them and they shot towards Isabella. Shortly before they reached her face, they slowed down and formed a warm coat over Isabella’s left cheek before dissolving into thin air.

Isabella giggled.

“This is one of the easiest things you can do with magic,” Florence told her. “If you practiced for a couple of weeks, you should be able to do it.”

“What does it do?” Isabella asked, not without raising her hand first.

“Nothing much,” Florence shrugged. Then she blushed. “It’s basically a kiss.”

Isabella smiled at her.

Florence cleared her throat. “There are much more complicated things you can do. Can you give me an example?”

“The forest,” Isabella said immediately. “It must be really difficult to cast such a powerful spell.”

“Yes it is, but nothing that a practiced witch can’t do.”

Isabella was impressed. She hadn’t thought that a spell liked this would be relatively easy to perform.

“It’s much more difficult to enter a person’s dreams,” Florence went on, “because you are directly influencing their thoughts and feelings. I had expected not to be able to get into your dreams when I first tired because you are such a strong-minded person.”

“And why could you do it?” Isabella wanted to know.

“Because you are also open-minded,” Florence explained, “and I wasn’t using the dreams to manipulate you to do something you didn’t want to do. I was only using them to introduce myself to you, nothing more.”

Isabella raised her hand again. “How did you know that I existed? And that you would like to introduce yourself to me?”

“That’s another spell,” Florence explained to her, “but it’s really quite complicated. You need to brew a potion and everything. But I also use it to find women who need my help.”

“Do I need your help?” Isabella wanted to know.

Florence slowly walked toward her and Isabella swallowed hard. She had forgotten to raise her hand. Florence stopped in front of Isabella’s table. “No,” she said quietly. “I had a completely different intention with you.”

“And what is that?” Isabella wanted to sound brave, but had difficulties controlling her voice.

Florence put both hands on the table and leaned down to her. “I thought to myself I’d love to see you naked, sprawled out on my bed while I finger you slowly.”

Isabella shuddered and felt a hot flush crawl over her face. She had hoped that this was Florence’s reason for getting in contact with her in the first place, but she hadn’t expected Florence to paint such a graphic image.

Florence straightened her back. “Let’s continue with your lesson. Is there anything you want to know about magic?”

Isabella tried to shake the feeling of arousal, but she couldn’t quite manage when Florence stood so closely to her. “Potions,” she whispered in a husky voice, “how do they work?”

“It depends on what you want to do.” Florence walked around the table, so she stood next to Isabella.

“Can you brew potions to drink?” Isabella asked.

Florence sat down on the table, so she was towering over Isabella. “Technically speaking, you can drink any potion,” she smirked.

“I mean if you can use them to become stronger or … or more beautiful or something like that.”

Florence cupped her cheek. “You wouldn’t need such a potion, would you?” she whispered. Then she continued in a normal voice, “There are different types of potions and you can use them for a variety of things. I can give you a book to read on this subject if you’re interested.”

“Yes, please,” Isabella said.

Her eyes wandered down to Florence’s legs. Florence was, again, wearing a dress. It had a silver shimmer to it and was almost so short that Isabella could see Florence’s pants. The dress also didn’t have sleeves and ended shortly above Florence’s breasts. Isabella was very distracted by the sight next to her and stared at Florence a good long while.

“Isabella.” Florence’s voice cut through Isabella’s train of thoughts. “I expect you to pay attention while you’re in class.”

“Sorry,” Isabella mumbled and looked up at Florence’s face.

“But when I give you a book to read, I expect you to sit an exam on it later,” Florence went on. “So are you sure you want to learn about potions?”

Isabella nodded.

“Very well then.”

Florence jumped off the table light-footedly. She walked over to a shelf, pulled down a slim book, and handed it to Isabella.

“I hadn’t expected it to be this tiny,” Isabella admitted.

“It only covers the basics, but it should give you a good first impression of what it is like to brew potions.”

“And when is my exam?” Isabella asked cheekily.

“In two weeks,” Florence announced. “And don’t worry about equipment or ingredients. It will be a strictly theoretical exam. We can talk about a practical approach once you’ve passed it.”

Isabella excitedly took the book from her.

“This concludes our lesson for today. Next time, I might let you sit in with a group. Are you hungry?”

Isabella nodded.

“Then I’m going to show you the kitchen.” Florence opened the door and held it open for Isabella. “During the day, if you are hungry, you can go to the kitchen and take whatever you want. There is a big meal every evening where everyone meets …”

*

Isabella spent her afternoon with Nora who taught her how to look after the garden. Florence had told her that it was essential for someone who wanted to brew potions to know about the different herbs and plants you could use. Knowledge about what plants to use when was what made a witch good at brewing potions. Florence told her this, which Isabella thought was obvious, but Florence said she would be surprised by how some people approached the subject of potions.

Isabella learned so much in this short afternoon that she couldn’t help but wonder if the witch hunters were eradicating so much useful knowledge that could help everyone that the world had to be off worse without it. She paid attention all afternoon long because she was determined to carry on this tradition and maybe even use it to help the Guild. However, this would only happen if the Guild decided to stop hunting witches and then the knowledge how to heal someone with a potion was less sought after anyway.

Isabella was looking forward to the evening when this grand dinner Florence had told her about would take place. Everyone, apart from Lisa, had been nothing but nice to her and Isabella couldn’t wait to have a long conversation over dinner when she could learn more from the witches.

Florence reappeared again at dusk to lead Isabella to the front of the house where the long table had appeared again. Isabella had interrupted the dinner before when she had come to warn Florence about Nora.

“How was your afternoon?” Florence smiled excitedly at her.

She was now wearing a flowery dress which ended a hand’s width above her knees and was being held together by a broad brown belt. She was barefoot and Isabella couldn’t hear a single one of her steps despite her walking right next to her.

“I learned so much today,” Isabella told her. “I had no idea that plants could be so powerful.”

“Wait until you read the book. There’s lots of interesting stuff in there.” Florence winked.

They stepped outside into the warm summer’s evening.

“Do you want to sit next to me?” Florence asked Isabella.

Isabella nodded excitedly.

“I usually sit at the head of the table, but today, I’m going to make an exception because if a corner is separating us, it’s too much space between us.”

“I have to agree with you there. That would be horrible,” Isabella flirted back.

“Please, sit.” Florence pulled out a chair for Isabella.

They were the first people to arrive there and Florence could pick whatever seat she wanted. The table was still empty, except for a beautifully embroidered table cloth. Isabella wondered where the food would come from, but Florence sat down next to Isabella and turned to her.

“So do you like it here?” She looked at Isabella expectantly.

“Yes, I do,” Isabella admitted. “Almost everyone has been really nice to me and I learned so much in just one day. And there are other aspects I enjoy about being here.”

Florence smiled at her. “Would you … I mean, it’s a bit early to be asking this question, but would you consider staying here … with me?”

Isabella had thought about this. She would love to stay for some time and learn more about the witches and their way of life. But she couldn’t see herself spending the rest of her life here.

“I don’t know,” she answered hastily.

Florence stopped smiling.

Isabella was cautious not to hurt Florence. “I mean, I can definitely see myself staying here for longer. To be honest, I love it here. But I don’t know if I could stay here forever.”

“But you would be willing to stay here for longer?” Florence asked hesitantly.

“Yes, why not,” Isabella agreed.

Florence’s face lit up again. “Then let us eat in celebration.”

She clapped her hands together and the others appeared suddenly, moving out of the house onto the meadow in front. They were carrying plates and glasses, trays full of food and carafes filled with wine. They put everything down on the table and then sat down themselves, looking at Florence expectantly.

Florence stood up. “This is Isabella,” she said, putting a hand on Isabella’s shoulder. “She will stay with us as long as she chooses and I encourage you to welcome her warmly.”

Nora smiled at Isabella from opposite the table.

“But I don’t want to keep you from your hard-earned meal,” Florence added. “Please.”

She sat down again and took a plate from a pile in front of her. Isabella followed her example.

“Help yourself to anything you want,” Florence invited her.

Isabella whispered into her ear, “Are you included in this offer?”

Florence looked at her in surprise. “Yes, if you’ll have me.”

“Good to know.” Isabella reached for a bowl full of apples with her left hand while she lay her right hand on Florence’s knee. “I would very much like you to be included in this offer.” She bit into the apple and winked at Florence.

“Then it’s a date,” Florence declared quietly. “But finish your meal first, you’ll need the energy.”

Isabella couldn’t help but blush. Eagerly, she finished her apple and then proceeded to fill her plate with various kinds of fruits and as many pieces of bread as would fit. A bit further away from where she was sitting, she also spotted a small cake stand with muffins and asked someone to hand her one.

Florence didn’t eat much. Instead, she was watching Isabella eagerly filling her stomach with everything she could reach. Florence also always made sure that Isabella had enough to drink and Isabella couldn’t help but notice that she altered between a glass of wine and a glass of water.

Isabella had a surprisingly good conversation with Nora. They turned out to have much in common and Isabella hoped they would become friends now that she had decided to stay longer. Florence didn’t interrupt their conversation, but listened to what they were saying attentively.

Even after the food had been eaten and Isabella had had five muffins, the conversations around the table continued on. If it was like this every night, Isabella could definitely get used to this sense of belonging.

When it had turned completely dark and a myriad of stars had appeared above them, Florence put a hand on Isabella’s shoulder.

“Would you perhaps like to take me up on my earlier offer?” she whispered into Isabella’s ear.

Isabella shuddered. “Yes,” she answered.

Florence raised her voice. “As nice as this evening has been,” everyone quieted down immediately, “it’s time for bed now. As always, you can stay out as long as you want, just don’t be late for class tomorrow.”

The other’s wished Florence good night in unison, and Florence waved them good-bye.

Isabella followed Florence into the house and up the staircase they had also climbed this morning when they had visited the classroom. They stopped in front of a large double door.

Before opening the door, Florence pulled Isabella close. “Are you sure about this?” she asked her.

Isabella nodded.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura is trying to come up with a plan to rescue Isabella from the witch.

Laura didn’t feel like talking to anyone. She knew that she could have dealt with this situation better than she had, but her fear to lose Isabella had taken hold of her and she had lost her head. This was the reason why she had promised herself never to fall for a colleague again. But it had happened once more and this time it even was unrequited. But still, she wanted to protect Isabella. And in this respect, she had failed her. The good thing was that she wasn’t the only one who had made mistakes and there were other people she could blame

“I was in charge,” she snapped at the American as soon as they had returned to the camp.

The American wasn’t impressed. “As a professional, I assessed the situation myself and decided on the right course of action for me and my team.”

“And that was disobeying the direct order of the person in charge and putting the life of one of our colleagues in danger, not to mention the life of the person we were hired to save?”

“Keep your hair on,” the American told her condescendingly. “If you hadn’t told us to seize fire, the girl would be here now and everything would be fine.”

Laura disagreed completely with the American on this point, but she refused to be drawn into a shouting match with him. He was so convinced that he was right that there was absolutely nothing that she could do.

“Well, from my point of view, you were endangering the mission, and I was in charge. Your behaviour will have consequences.”

The American flushed red with rage. “How dare you talk to me this way? We are highly trained and incredibly skilled professionals. We are efficient at risk assessment and problem solving. And you have no right, and also no qualification, to tell us how to do our job.”

Laura took a deep breath. “You agreed to this mission. You agreed that I would be the leader and yet you didn’t listen to a single one of my commands. You have to see that I can’t let that pass.”

“Let’s talk about why I decided to disobey your orders.” Laura didn’t like the grin on the American’s face. “You were emotional, you were agitated, at one point you were crying, in other words you weren’t accountable. Can you tell me why you were so upset and completely unprofessional in the face of danger?”

Laura bit her bottom lip in anger and looked the American in the eye. “I was on the verge of losing one of my closest colleagues. Of course I was upset.”

“Then we must ask ourselves if you are fit to lead if you get emotional so quickly.”

Laura knew that the American only wanted to provoke her into losing her head, so she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “I’ll be in touch with your superior and together we will decide on the appropriate punishment for you. Until then, you will refrain from making any attempt to rescue the girl. Please leave.”

Laura was sure the American was about to strangle her, but he was able to control himself. Instead, he balled his hands into fists and rushed off.

Roberto looked at her, intimidated. “What are you going to do now? The mayor is going to kill us.”

Laura smiled at him. “No, he isn’t,” she reassured him, “not if we tell him the Americans were about to kill his daughter.”

“I’m not sure that he would have minded,” Roberto said gloomily. “Why hire the Americans in the first place?”

Laura felt sick all of a sudden. Isabella had asked the same question just before they had left this morning. And now she was probably dead, all because Laura hadn’t paid attention. Her feeling of sickness turned into rage when she thought of the witch and how she had gripped Isabella by the throat and had tried to kill her.

“We need to come up with a plan,” she said determinately. “We need to get Isabella out of there.”

“You heard what the witch said.” Roberto was pale. “She’s going to kill Isabella if we attempt to harm her in any way.”

“We don’t know if she’s not dead already.” Laura didn’t want to be thinking like this, but she couldn’t get the witch’s face out of her head as her fingers had closed around Isabella’s throat. “And if she’s not, I’m sure she soon will be. Isabella would never heed to the wishes of a witch, she’d sooner die.”

“Don’t be too hard with yourself.”

Laura looked at Roberto in surprise. “How do you mean?”

“I mean it wasn’t your fault that Isabella was caught,” Roberto added slowly. “If anything, it was the American’s fault. You did everything you could.”

“Thank you.” Laura did feel much better. She knew it wasn’t her fault that Isabella was in this situation, but that didn’t change the fact that she could have handled the situation differently.

“Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you think it’s too personal.”

Laura was only half paying attention. “Yes, of course.”

“Is there something going on between you and Isabella?” Roberto wanted to know.

Laura didn’t feel like discussing hers and Isabella’s relationship in detail with a near stranger, so she was glad that Roberto had given her the opportunity to opt out. “Yes, that question is too personal. “I’m sorry, Roberto.”

He just shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

Suddenly, Laura felt incredibly tired. The hardships of the day were finally catching up with her. “We need to come up with a plan,” she mumbled.

“Shouldn’t we be resting and regrouping?” Roberto asked in concern.

“Do you think the Americans will rest?” Laura snapped at him impatiently.

“They won’t be doing anything,” Roberto said, taken aback. “You sent them away.”

“But they won’t listen to me,” Laura pointed out. “They are working on doing something stupid and reckless, I’m sure of it.”

“We can’t focus all our energy on the Americans and what they will or will not do,” Roberto told her. “We should concentrate on rescuing Isabella and the girl.”

“And the Americans are a danger to that,” Laura pointed out. “I’m sure the witch will do something horrible to Isabella should the Americans break the promise I made.”

“You also threatened to kill the witch,” Roberto pointed out.

Laura blushed. “But I will only harm her if something happens to Isabella,” she told Roberto. “The Americans will do whatever they want, especially because they think what they are doing is right.”

“Sometimes I wonder the same,” Roberto admitted. “Wouldn’t it be easier to hunt witches without any regard for anything?”

Laura looked at him, taken aback.

“No, think about it,” Roberto went on. “Imagine not having to worry if you’ll kill civilians or not. We would have a much higher success rate if we could, for example, just blow up a building a witch is hiding in without having to worry about the civilians we’re going to kill this way.”

“But that’s horrible,” Laura exclaimed. “Why would we kill the people we’re trying to protect?”

“Because we would be much more efficient if we didn’t have to worry about things like that.”

“And soon no one would be left we could protect,” Laura added. “No, I prefer things the way they are.”

“Okay, then imagine not having to worry about your colleagues,” Roberto changed directions. “Wouldn’t it be nice to not pay attention to what happens to them, not to have to worry whether they’ll be killed or not?”

“I’m sorry, but I find it impossible to be detached like this,” Laura snapped. She wasn’t sure what Roberto’s point was and she was getting impatient with him.

“But it would have helped you today, wouldn’t it?” Roberto pressed on. “Imagine if you wouldn’t care about what happens to Isabella. You would’ve killed the witch there and then, even if it had meant sacrificing Isabella’s life. We would be done by now.”

“No one would become a witch hunter if you couldn’t trust your colleagues,” Laura sighed. “Nothing would work. What if you had a fight with one of your colleagues and the next time you go on a mission, you just shoot them in the back and tell everyone it was the necessary move to catch the witch. What makes us so strong is that we can rely on each other and trust each other.”

“Hm,” Roberto made. “You have a point, but still …”

“No, I refuse to discuss with you whether it would have been better to kill Isabella or not,” Laura said firmly, trying to suppress a quiver in her voice. “I wouldn’t have been able to kill Isabella under any circumstances. If anything, I would have sacrificed myself to save her. And don’t even think about harming her,” she added in a low voice. “What I said to the witch also applies to you.”

*

The night went by quietly. Laura spent it bent over maps and charts in her tent, trying to come up with anything that would help Isabella. The literature on the subject was clear: If you were taken by a witch, there were only two possible outcomes. Either you were killed or you were manipulated by the witch into thinking that witches were no threat to anyone. Laura hoped for the first to happen to Isabella. If she came back thinking that witches were harmless, then they would have taken away an integral part of Isabella’s personality, most likely through mental and physical torture, that there was no hope for her ever recovering. As cruel as it sounded and as much as Laura hated herself for thinking like this, she would prefer Isabella to come back dead.

The next morning, Roberto came to her tent to apologise to her. He then offered to help her come up with a plan to rescue Isabella and Nora. Laura had no trouble accepting Roberto’s apology and his help. He agreed with her that it would be better to get Isabella back dead when the other option was her being turned into a witch supporter.

Together, they came up with the idea to find a way to contact the witch and demand proof that Isabella was still alive. If she failed to provide it, they would attack with everything they had. If Isabella was still alive, they would focus on negotiating Isabella’s freedom.

Laura knew that the Americans would strongly disapprove of her plan, but from her point of view, this was the best plan of action that could be taken in this situation. Together with Roberto, she wrote a letter that she would deliver to the witch herself if she had to. Secretly she wanted to get a glimpse of Isabella to confirm that she was indeed still alive and unharmed.

That night, Laura went to bed with the sense of a job well done. She was doing everything she could to get Isabella out of this situation. Lying in bed, she could feel herself drifting off to sleep, which was something she desperately needed.

Her sleep was deep and dreamless and Laura didn’t even wake up when she was turning over on her bed. Only in the early hours of morning did she stir when she heard shouting and cheering outside. She contemplated going back to sleep, but loud voices early in the morning never were a good sign, even if they sounded so jubilant.

Groaning, Laura sat up and rubbed her eyes. At this moment, Roberto burst into her tent.

“Laura, they caught the witch,” he announced excitedly.

“What?” Laura mumbled drowsily.

Roberto gripped her hand and pulled her off the bed. “Come quickly,” he implored her.

Laura rushed after Robert. Her heart was pounding hard and fast in her chest. When Roberto pulled the fabric at the entrance to the tent to one side, Laura immediately spotted the American. He was holding a machine gun and pointed it at the back door of a black car.

“She’s inside,” Roberto told her in a hushed voice.

“I want to see her,” Laura told the American.

“With pleasure.” The American gestured to one of the others to open the door of the car and the other obliged hesitantly.

“Take her.”

The second man reached inside the car and pulled. Slowly, the witch was revealed this way. Laura began to grin. The Americans had done something right for once.

The witch was only wearing a dressing gown and from what Laura could tell, she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. The look on her face was one of pure loathing.

“Get the other one as well,” the American ordered.

Someone opened the other door and pulled out another woman who had a thin blanket wrapped around her body. She stared at the ground and faced away from the light, but Laura recognised her nevertheless.

“Isabella?” she breathed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Florence and Isabella spend a night together.

Florence had a gigantic bed which stood facing glass balcony doors – other than this and a long wardrobe, the room was empty. Isabella also didn’t have time to have a look around because Florence pushed her onto the bed immediately.

The bed was soft and comfortable and when Isabella let her hand glide over the blanket, she felt silk on her skin. For someone who was as connected to nature as Florence was, she was also used to a certain standard of luxury.

Florence stood in front of Isabella and swayed her hips seductively in time to a music only she could hear. Slowly, she opened her belt and lifted it before dropping it next to her. Isabella swallowed hard. However, Florence didn’t take off her dress right away. Instead, she stepped closer to Isabella and crowded into her personal space. Isabella spread her legs so that Florence could stand between them.

Florence leaned down and caught Isabella’s chin between her thumb and forefinger. Holding her this way, she kissed her softly, her tongue flicking across Isabella’s lips from time to time to taste her. Isabella sighed every time when Florence did so. She raised both her hands and began to stroke across Florence’s thighs softly, over her dress at first, before she began to touch her naked skin beneath it.

Then Florence pushed her down so she was lying on the bed and crawled on top of her. Isabella kicked off her shoes, hoping that Florence would undress her soon. She longed to be touched by her. But Florence took her time with Isabella. First, she pinned Isabella’s wrists down next to her head, never breaking the kiss. Then she moved on to bite and suck the skin on Isabella’s neck, ignoring Isabella squirming beneath her.

When Isabella couldn’t take it any longer, she moaned eagerly, “Florence.”

Florence bit her earlobe instead of an answer, but she let go of one of Isabella’s wrists. For a short moment, Isabella contemplated touching herself because she was desperate for something touching her between her legs, but then her need to tease Florence back was stronger.

Isabella put her free hand back on Florence’s leg and dug her nails into it. She scratched Florence’s skin lightly and Florence gasped. Isabella couldn’t help but look smugly.

Florence grinned mischievously. “Remember our lesson today?” she asked quietly. “I think you have forgotten who is in charge.”

With her free hand, she gripped Isabella’s throat and Isabella couldn’t help but moan in pleasure. She let her hand fall onto the bed and tangled it in the blanket.

“I want you to strip,” Florence whispered into her ear. “I want to see you completely naked.”

Isabella remembered what Florence had said earlier about what she wanted to do to her and shivered in anticipation.

Florence stood up and extended a hand to Isabella. Isabella took it and Florence pulled her up with such force and speed that she felt dizzy for a short while. Then the dizziness had a different reason – Florence was staring at her with so much heat in her eyes that Isabella couldn’t help but blush.

She began by unbuttoning her trousers slowly. Florence’s eyes wandered down and watched as Isabella’s fingers worked open the button and zip. Taking her time, Isabella tried to make it look as seductively as possible and it seem to work because Florence couldn’t take her eyes off her. Isabella continued by taking off her shirt and if she had thought she’d had Florence’s full attention before, it was nothing to how Florence looked at her now. Isabella saw how Florence moved her legs closer together and dug her nails into the fabric of her dress.

Isabella stopped and looked at Florence, an eyebrow raised.

“Well, go on then,” Florence said.

“Wouldn’t it be fair if you stripped as well?” Isabella pointed out.

“Oh, Isabella,” Florence chuckled. “This isn’t about fairness.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m waiting.”

Isabella was incredibly turned on by Florence being this authoritative with her. A small part of her wanted to oppose Florence’s orders, but a bigger part wanted to do what Florence asked of her, so she would be pleased with her.

She started by unhooking her bra behind her back, not breaking eye contact with Florence. Florence bit her lips when Isabella’s breasts were revealed. Isabella didn’t at all feel exposed under Florence’s watchful eyes. On the contrary – she enjoyed the attention.

Isabella hooked one finger into the waistband of her pants and pulled them down a fraction. Florence’s mouth opened and Isabella could hear her draw in air loudly. In a burst of inspiration, she turned around and bent down to show off her butt while she took of her pants. Florence’s breathing faltered. Before she could turn back around again, there was a pair of hands on her hips and Florence’s hair tickled her back.

“That was a cheeky move,” Florence whispered, her voice deep with arousal. “Bend over.”

Isabella did as she was told and lay down on her stomach, her feet still dangling over the edge of the bed. Florence stroked down her spine with one finger and Isabella felt goose bumps breaking out all over her body.

When Florence began to finger her, it was very softly at first, and Isabella wouldn’t have noticed it if Florence hadn’t told her how beautiful her finger disappearing inside of Isabella looked. Isabella moaned quietly.

Soon, there was no more doubt that Florence was fingering her. Isabella could feel Florence’s finger move in and out languidly and Isabella’s hips began to move in time with it involuntarily. Florence let it happen for a while before she put a hand on Isabella’s hip and held her down. This time, Isabella couldn’t help moaning loudly at the feeling of Florence being so in control over her.

“Oh, you like that?” Florence asked, a smile in her voice.

She dug her nails into Isabella’s hips and pushed her down harder, all the while increasing the speed of her finger.

Isabella nodded. “Yes,” she breathed.

Florence shifted behind her. Then there were soft kisses on Isabella’s back. She hummed contently and relaxed. Whatever Florence did didn’t feel like sex, it felt like a massage. It wasn’t at all wild like Isabella had expected it to be, judging from the dreams and how Florence had acted towards her. Isabella was sure she wouldn’t be able to come from what Florence was doing to her, but it felt so good that she didn’t crave a change.

Then Florence whispered, “Turn around.” She removed her finger from Isabella and stood up from the bed.

Isabella did as she was told and propped herself up on her arms. Florence looked flustered. She opened her dress at the side and slipped out of it. She was wearing white lingerie that looked expensive. Isabella couldn’t help but gape at her because Florence seemed to radiate in the dim light of the darkened bedroom.

“Lie down on the pillows,” Florence told her with a nod of her head.

Isabella didn’t move. “When do I get to touch you?” she wanted to know.

“You won’t get to touch me at all if you don’t learn to listen to the person who is in charge,” Florence said seriously.

Isabella hurried to follow Florence’s orders and lay her head down on the pillows on top of the bed. Florence joined her on the bed again, kneeling next to her and stroking her body softly.

“You are beautiful,” she whispered. “Isabella,” she added softly.

“Isa,” Isabella corrected her.

“What was that?”

“Isa,” Isabella repeated. “It’s what my closest friends call me.” She couldn’t tell in the light, but she was sure Florence was blushing. “If you want to call me that,” she added quickly.

“Yes, I’d love that.” Florence kissed her sweetly, lingering. “You can call me Flo.”

Isabella giggled. “That doesn’t sound very witchy,” she pointed out.

Florence smiled. “You have a very witchy name though.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Isabella the witch.”

“It does have a very nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Isabella smiled at Florence.

Florence stroked over Isabella’s upper thigh, brushing against her clit lightly. Isabella sighed contently.

“I think you’ve learned your lesson,” Florence said slowly. “You were very quick to follow my orders earlier.”

“You made a convincing argument,” Isabella told her.

“I’m not only strict in the classroom but also in the bedroom.” Florence winked at her. “But I can be gracious if you follow my wishes.”

Isabella raised an eyebrow. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Good girl.”

Florence took Isabella’s right hand and placed it on her breast. The bra felt as silky as it looked and Isabella relished the feeling of softly brushing her hand against it. Florence began to pant and to stroke Isabella’s thigh with more pressure.

Soon, Florence was straddling Isabella, moaning and panting and moving her hips slightly. Isabella felt incredibly turned on by this sight. Florence didn’t close her eyes in bliss, but stared into Isabella’s without blinking.

When Florence began to finger Isabella again, she closed her eyes and threw her head back. “I can feel you clench around my finger,” she told Isabella in a husky voice.

“Yes,” Isabella moaned. “I’m really close.”

Florence took Isabella’s hand which was still lying on her breast and led it down between her legs. “I want you to finger me.”

Isabella obliged without hesitation. Florence was so wet that Isabella moaned when she touched her and Florence moaned too.

“Your fingers are cold,” Florence told her.

“Then I’ll have to warm them up,” Isabella replied, pushing two fingers inside Florence.

Florence gasped. “Oh, you’re cheeky,” she remarked. “You don’t look like it.”

“Don’t I?” Isabella smirked.

“You look very decent when you’re not sprawled out naked beneath me.”

Florence bent her finger a bit and stroked against Isabella’s G-spot. Isabella closed her eyes.

“Oh, you like that?” Florence asked her. She was moving up and down on Isabella’s fingers.

“I like everything you do,” Isabella admitted, “which is not surprising.”

“Then you’re going to love this next bit.”

Florence gripped Isabella’s wrists and removed her fingers. Then she shuffled down on the bed, kissing Isabella’s breasts and stomach as she went. Isabella relaxed into the pillows and let Florence do as she pleased. Florence began to lick Isabella’s clit softly and then faster. Gripping Florence’s hair, Isabella began to pant and pushed her hips up into Florence’s face to get more contact. Florence held Isabella’s hips down liked she had done before and began to lick her even faster.

With a shout, Isabella came. Florence grinned up at her smugly from between her legs.

“Yes, that was very good,” Isabella confirmed, panting heavily.

Florence sat up and touched herself through her pants. “I hope you wouldn’t be averse to repeating this.”

Isabella’s eyes were fixed on Florence touching herself and she didn’t answer right away.

“Isa?” Florence asked and stopped moving her hand.

It sounded strange yet familiar to hear Florence call her by this name. She shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I was momentarily distracted by you. Please, go on.”

Florence smirked and began to touch herself again. “Is this another thing you like?”

Isabella nodded.

“Kiss me,” Florence said suddenly, and Isabella was only too happy to oblige.

It was the longest kiss they had shared yet. It started out soft and careful, but soon turned into a heated exchange of licks and bites. Florence couldn’t stop sucking at Isabella’s bottom lip and brushing Isabella’s tongue with hers. All the while, she continued to touch herself until her hand suddenly shot from her pants to grip Isabella’s arm as she came, mouth and eyes wide open.

Isabella kissed her softly. “Is this what you had in mind when you saw me for the first time?”

“No,” Florence admitted. “I didn’t think it would be quite this good.”

“Shut up.” Isabella punched her lightly.

Florence smiled. “Would you … would you like to spend the night in my bed?”

“Well, it is a very comfortable bed.” Isabella let herself fall back onto the pillows. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping here.”

Florence lay down as well, half on top of Isabella. “Good night, Isa.” She pressed a soft kiss to Isabella’s cheek.

“Good night, Flo,” Isabella replied.

*

When Isabella woke up again, she thought it had to be midday because a bright light was shining into her face. However, she felt as if she had just fallen asleep and she couldn’t imagine having slept until late morning.

Next to her, Florence stirred. “What’s going on?” she asked sleepily.

Then someone gripped Isabella and the next moment she was standing next to the bed, the cold barrel of a gun pressed to her temple.

“Well, well, well.”

Isabella screwed up her eyes in an attempt to look past the glaring light to see the woman who had spoken. It was futile.

“Tie them up,” the woman ordered.

“Shouldn’t we let them get dressed first?” a man asked, uncertainty in his voice.

“No,” Florence shouted suddenly.

Isabella slowly began to realise what was going on and was painfully aware that she had been found sleeping nakedly next to a witch.

“Give them something to cover themselves up with, but make it quick,” the woman ordered.

Someone threw a blanket at Isabella and she covered herself up quickly. She couldn’t do much else because her hands were held together by a man.

“Let’s go, quickly.”

The man was much taller and stronger than Isabella and she didn’t have much of a choice than to go with him. Florence resisted more than her, biting, scratching, and cursing anyone who would come near her, and in the end it took three men to half-carry, half-drag her out of the room.

Isabella looked around for any sign of the other girls, but the house was completely quiet, so she hoped they were smart enough to hide in their rooms and not to see what the commotion was about. _If they are still alive_ , a nasty voice in her head added.

By the time they reached the bottom of the grand staircase, Florence was quiet. She only glared at everyone who looked at her. They pushed Florence into a huge Land Rover and Isabella was led around to the other side of the car and had to sit down next to one of the men who had caught them.

A familiar face smiled at her from the front seat. “Well, hello there, Miss Summers,” the American said. “What a lovely surprise.”

Isabella spat in his face.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They hold a trial to determine what will happen with Isabella.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the slight delay, but it's the Oscar weekend and I still needed to watch a couple of films :3

Florence and Isabella were brought into a tent where Florence was locked up in a cage and Isabella was tied down. They were at different ends of the tent, a guard stationed between them to make sure they weren’t talking to each other.

When they had been brought from the car to the tent, Isabella had spotted Laura. She had been talking to the American, gesticulating wildly. Isabella hadn’t wanted her to find out this way, but now the damage was done and Laura would never see her with the same eyes again.

But Laura was the least of her worries now. Florence was cowering in her cage, her legs drawn up to her torso, her face buried in her hands. Isabella couldn’t understand it, couldn’t comprehend how they had managed to get past Florence’s spells and to the house. The strange woman she had never seen before must somehow be responsible for it. Even with Florence being this careful, her spells hadn’t been strong enough to ward off women.

The man who had been stationed as their guard looked between them, a smirk on his face. Isabella knew he was thinking about them both naked in bed together, but she didn’t care about his opinion on that matter. All she craved was to make sure that Florence was all right and come up with a plan to get them both out of this situation.

Someone stepped into the tent, but Isabella couldn’t see who it was because she had been tied up facing away from the entrance. She knew from experience that this was a way to intimidate prisoners because this way they couldn’t tell who or what was coming for them. It was the woman who had been at Florence’s house. To Isabella’s chagrin but also relief, she was there to see her and not Florence.

“So you are the famous Isabella Summers,” the woman remarked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

She looked a lot like Laura. She was about her age and size, and wore black leather trousers and a black leather jacket. Her hair was dark, short, and curly and her face stern, yet mocking.

“Yes,” Isabella said tensely.

“I didn’t think you would be such a slut,” the woman said.

Isabella blushed red with rage.

“Sleeping with a witch, that’s a new low,” the woman went on. “I’ve never heard of such a thing, no matter how powerful the spell.”

“I’m not under any spell,” Isabella spat. She was so angry she wanted to strangle the woman.

“Oh, we know,” the woman grinned. “You don’t exhibit any of the signs of someone who is under a spell. That makes it all the more worrying.”

Isabella only glared at her.

“So you won’t even try to defend yourself?” The woman sounded somewhat disappointed.

“Why should I defend myself? It’s not as if I will be saved by that,” Isabella told her.

“True,” the woman granted her. “By sleeping with the witch, you dug your own grave.”

Isabella was irked by the woman constantly referring to Florence as _the witch_. “Her name is Florence, you know.”

“And why are you telling me that?” the woman snapped. She stepped closer to Isabella, bent down, gripped her hair, and pulled back her head. “I don’t listen to dirty witch sympathizer.” She spat into Isabella’s face.

Isabella heard a rustle and the tent suddenly became dark. She felt a chill run through her entire body.

When Florence spoke, it wasn’t more than a whisper, but it sounded more threatening than Isabella had ever heard.

“If you do that again, I will kill you.”

The woman turned around and laughed. “Do you think this is the first time a witch has threatened me?”

Florence grinned at her and had Isabella not been tied down, she would have tried to run away because she was so frightened by that sight.

“It will be the last time,” Florence said carefully.

Even the woman shuddered this time, but hid it by turning her attention back to Isabella. “They will talk to you later,” she told her. “Don’t be too hopeful.”

And with that, she left the tent.

Isabella let her muscles relax, but couldn’t shake the eerie feeling the woman had left behind.

“She’s great, isn’t she?” The guard grinned at her.

Isabella didn’t say anything.

*

The next time someone came into the tent it was to bring them food. Isabella was untied and had to eat while a gun was pointed at her. Florence, who was locked up in her cage, ignored her food completely.

Isabella figured she might as well eat when they were coming back for her later. She hadn’t eaten in ages and she knew she would need her strength.

During her training, there had been a case of a hunter falling for a witch. She could remember how disgusting she had thought the hunter was. Everyone had been talking about it for months and the execution had been a grand spectacle.

Isabella felt sick and almost vomited up her food again when she realised she would be executed. There was no other possible outcome. It only hit her now that there was no way out of this situation and that she would be dead soon.

It was selfish of her that she was thinking this way. Florence’s life was also forfeit and there were people who depended on her, all those girls who were without protection now. Isabella really should be focusing on saving Florence, not herself. She had done enough bad things in her life to justify this punishment, but all Florence had done was to save women in danger and yet she would be killed as well.

When they finally came to get her, it was Roberto, not the horrible woman from earlier. He looked tired and weary and when he unlocked the handcuffs around Isabella’s wrists, he went gentle and careful about it.

Isabella thanked him and stood up.

“It’s a shame,” he said, shaking his head, “to lose such a fine witch hunter as you. We are all in shock.”

“You haven’t lost me yet,” Isabella tried to lighten the mood.

Roberto only smiled at her sadly.

He walked Isabella to the tent where they had had the first meeting with the American only two days ago. It felt like a lifetime ago to Isabella. Everyone they passed stared at her and one or two people spat on the ground. Isabella ignored them with her head held high.

Laura was waiting for her in the tent, and even though Isabella had hoped to see her, she had also dreaded this moment because now Laura knew why Isabella had rejected her and she would never forgive her.

Isabella had to sit down in a chair facing a large table and was tied to it again. Laura, who hadn’t looked at her once, sat down in the middle of the table, flanked by Roberto on her left and the American on her right. The woman from earlier was also there, together with a burly man Isabella had never seen before.

“We are here to discuss the fate of Isabella Summers,” Laura opened. “Some of us were very keen on deciding her fate without a proper trial, while others insisted on holding up the laws of our Guild.”

Isabella could guess who had wanted to see her dead without a proper trial.

“We will listen to Miss Summer’s account and then decide fairly what will happen to her,” Laura went on. She still wasn’t looking at Isabella, but at a piece of paper. “So please, Roberto, take off the handcuffs. No guilt has been proven yet.”

The woman snorted. “We found them in bed together, Laura. That’s enough proof, if you ask me.”

“Yes, but I didn’t ask you, Victoria,” Laura reminded her.

Laura nodded at Roberto and Roberto stood up again to take off the handcuffs which tied Isabella to the chair. As soon as her wrists were freed, Isabella allowed herself a moment of weakness and rubbed the sore skin. Victoria smirked at her.

“Thank you, Roberto,” Laura said as Roberto sat down again. Then she addressed someone who was standing behind Isabella. “Could you get her a glass of water, please?”

“Now that’s quite enough, Laura,” Victoria reminded her. “You don’t have to treat her with so much respect.”

“I am the chair at this trial,” Laura said tensely, “and I will treat the defendant however I see fit.”

Victoria glared at Laura, but didn’t say anything.

“Miss Isabella Summers is here today because she is a traitor,” Laura opened.

The relief Isabella might have felt earlier at Laura treating her with kindness vanished. It wasn’t so much that Laura had called her a traitor, but that she kept referring to her by her first and her last name as if she was trying to create as much distance between them as possible.

“Hear, hear,” the American offered.

Laura rolled her eyes in annoyance. “We are holding a trial today to determine the extent of her guilt.”

“It seems pretty straightforward to me,” the man whom Isabella didn’t know said.

“It might seem this way now, Mayor Nacar,” Laura told him, “but we haven’t heard her side of the story yet.”

Isabella’s fists balled in rage. So this was the man who had mistreated Nora so horribly. And now he was one of the people who would decide her fate.

“It’s rather straightforward,” Mayor Nacar continued. “We found her in a compromising position and I don’t think there is any doubt about what they were doing. Don’t you agree?”

“This is one of the things we will learn today,” Laura answered diplomatically. “Miss Summers,” she turned to Isabella, “will you vow to tell the truth today?”

Isabella nodded. “Yes.”

Laura nodded as well. “Shall we begin then?”

Victoria stood up. “As the one who brought in the defendant, I would like to be the one to open.”

“Be my guest,” Laura allowed.

Isabella swallowed hard. She had no idea who this Victoria was and where she had come from, but she couldn’t stand her, not only because she had caught her and Florence, but also because of how she had treated her earlier.

“Miss Summers,” Victoria opened, “is it not true that you are considered to be one of the best witch hunters of our time?”

“Yes, people have told me so,” Isabella answered.

“And is it not true that you displayed exceptional leadership and management skills from the beginning of your education?” the woman went on.

“Yes, my teachers frequently wrote this in my reports.”

“Then how come you decided to betray everything you stand for and, literally, sleep with the enemy?” Victoria grinned at her spitefully.

“I did not betray everything I stand for,” Isabella defended herself. “Our main objective as witch hunters is to help people who are in need and I did nothing less.”

“So the witch was in need of an orgasm?” Victoria asked.

Isabella blushed with rage.

“Victoria,” Laura warned her.

Victoria only grinned the grin Isabella had learned to hate already. “In what way was the witch in need then, Miss Summers?”

“She wasn’t,” Isabella answered through her teeth, trying to supress her rage, “but everyone else living at that house is.”

“Yes, in need of rescuing,” Victoria confirmed. “Are you trying to tell us it was your plan to sneak into the house and rescue everyone on your own but then you somehow ended up in bed together with the witch? Or was that part of your genius plan?”

“Isabella was caught by the witch, as you very well know,” Laura suddenly spoke up. “She wasn’t trying to be a hero.”

Victoria only glanced over her shoulder briefly before continuing to interrogate Isabella. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“The women there need protection from the people in their lives,” Isabella said quickly. “That’s why they are hiding in the forest. And Florence helps them where everyone else failed them.”

Laura’s face twitched, but she didn’t say anything.

Victoria turned to the panel assembled behind her. “Isabella Summers is a classic example of a woman who has succumbed to the lies of a witch. Those women in the forest aren’t in need of protection from people, but they need to be saved from a cruel and callous woman.”

“No,” Isabella shouted, partly to get everyone’s attention, partly because Victoria was twisting the truth horribly. “Ask that man over there.” She nodded in the direction of the mayor. “Ask him what he does to his daughter.”

“How dare you?” Victoria slapped her in the face. “How dare you discredit such an honourable man in such a way?”

“That’s enough,” Laura ordered. She was standing now, drawn up to her full height. “Sit down, Victoria.”

Victoria rolled her eyes but heeded to Laura’s orders. When she passed Laura, Laura gripped her arm and whispered something into her ear. Victoria’s face darkened.

“Does anyone else have a question for Isabella?” Laura addressed the others.

“Yes,” Mayor Nacar spoke up. “I’d quite like to know what the defendant was insinuating just now.”

Laura cleared her throat. “Miss Summers, would you like to answer this question?”

“I don’t think Mayor Nacar needs me to answer this question,” Isabella shrugged. “He knows exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Then explain it for the benefit of the rest of us,” Laura asked of her.

“Mayor Nacar abuses his daughter in the worst way possible,” Isabella said quickly. “If anything, he should be on trial here, not me.”

Laura glanced at the mayor who was still sitting there with the air of a man who was unaware of any wrongdoing. “Those are some heavy accusations,” Laura said slowly. “Do you have any proof for what you are saying?”

“Yes,” Isabella said immediately. “If this is a fair trial, Nora wouldn’t mind providing evidence.”

“She can’t be trusted,” the American interjected. All eyes were on him. “She’s been living in the woods for several days, enough time for the witch to brainwash her.”

“He has a point,” Laura agreed. “Why should we listen to anything she says?”

“Because Florence doesn’t manipulate women to keep them locked up at the house. She tries to help them.”

“Oh, so it’s Florence now,” Victoria interjected from the side.

“Yes, I told you before, that’s her name,” Isabella said calmly.

Laura’s face darkened for a brief moment before she spoke again. “We cannot trust anyone who could have been influenced by a witch.”

Isabella’s hopes sank. This meant they also wouldn’t believe anything she said.

“Roberto,” Laura addressed the man to her left. “Do you want to continue?”

Roberto looked very much like a man who was carrying a heavy burden as he stood up to take the floor. Isabella couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“Miss Summers, could you please tell us the whole story about you and the witch?”

Isabella was glad that Roberto gave her the opportunity to tell her story. She started with the dreams and how she had been scared of them at first, but how she had met Florence on the day of the forest fire and how Florence had talked to her without making an attempt on her life. Isabella left out how she had felt drawn to Florence in a romantic and in a sexual way.

Then she talked about how she had gone to Florence and told her to bring back Nora. The mayor huffed in disbelief at this part, but Isabella ignored him. She had believed Florence when she had said she would think about it.

“There is just one thing I don’t understand,” Roberto interrupted her. “You were in the house of the witch. Why didn’t you just arrest her? Why go talk to her?”

“It makes sense.” It was Laura who answered. “Isabella was manipulated by the witch into thinking that she was trying to help those women. And Isabella believed her because she is a nice person.”

“But Florence is really trying to help them,” Isabella protested. “Why won’t you believe me?”

“No need to get emotional,” Roberto tried to calm her down. “Please continue with your story.”

Isabella told them how Florence had taken her hostage against her will and how Florence had finally explained everything, how Nora and the others had told her what was really going on. The mayor’s face grew red with anger the longer she talked, but he didn’t say anything. She finished by saying they had agreed to wait it out.

“But that didn’t work out, did it?” Roberto finished for her. “You betrayed everything a witch hunter stands for. To me, the verdict is clear and I am sure the others will agree with me.” He turned around so he was facing the panel. “I would suggest the death penalty.”

Isabella’s heart sank. She had anticipated this verdict, but it still came as a shock to her.

“There is still something I don’t quite understand,” Laura said slowly. “Why did you do it, Isabella? Why now?”

“I don’t know,” Isabella answered, then remembered that she had promised to tell the truth. “I was intrigued by the witch and then I realised she didn’t mean us any harm, so I listened to what she had to say.”

“Through your actions, you committed treason,” Laura said, her voice shaking. “This leaves me but one option: to listen to Roberto’s advice and sentence you to death. However, our laws say that we have to hold a trial for the witch first. After that, we will decide what to do with you both. Roberto, please take her away.”

Roberto put her hands in cuffs again. He wouldn’t have needed those because Isabella had lost all spirit to fight. Roberto led her back to the tent past the sneering and booing crowd. Isabella didn’t notice any of this and didn’t resist when Roberto tied her up again.

“Isabella?” Florence asked quietly from the cage.

“Quiet,” their guard ordered.

Isabella didn’t say anything.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of information on Florence's background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to write a quick thank you to everyone who is reading the new chapters every week, this fanfic crossed 1,000 hits this week and I am so grateful to all of you for reading it and leaving comments and engaging with the story, thank you all so much :*

Florence had suspected that she was different from other children from a very young age. She had been able to control the movements of insects and small animals with her mind and she could move objects just by looking at them. When she made a teacher at school trip by moving his chair, her life changed completely from one minute to the next. Her mother picked her up from school and drove with her to the airport where she put her on a plane. Florence would never see her mother again.

The plane brought her to Italy where a strange woman was waiting for her. The woman was dressed all in black with a big black hat and black sunglasses, even though it was a rainy day. Soon, Florence found herself in a shabby little flat in a city she didn’t know the name of in a country she couldn’t speak the language of. Even though the woman didn’t mistreat her, she was cold and distant, and Florence cried herself to sleep that night.

The next morning, the woman was nicer to her and made her hot chocolate. Then they sat down together on a narrow balcony and the woman, whose name was Theresa explained to Florence what was happening to her.

“You are a natural-born witch,” she said to her. “And that’s something which is not accepted in our society, as you very well know.”

Florence felt like crying again, but she also knew that it was impolite to interrupt an adult when they were talking, so she pulled herself together and nodded.

“You mustn’t be angry with your mother,” Theresa went on. “She had no choice but to send you away. And believe me, she is facing enough problems at home right now, trying to explain why you have suddenly disappeared. Do you know what happens to little girls who can do magic?”

“They are taken away from home,” Florence answered. “It happened to one of my friends. But my mother didn’t want to tell me where she had gone and when she would be back.”

“And she was right to do so,” Theresa nodded. “But now that you are in the same situation, you have a right to know.” She paused and took a sip of her coffee. "There are two possibilities when a girl shows signs of magic. Either the authorities come and take her away or her parents are gracious enough to save her. You were lucky that your mother wanted to see you live. That’s why she sent you to me.”

“Do they kill the others?” Florence asked breathlessly.

“Yes and no,” Theresa answered vaguely. “It all depends. How old are you?”

“Ten,” Florence answered in a small voice.

“Hm yes, they would have sent you to a camp and tried to _re-programme_ you so that you would have forgotten how to use magic. It would have been horrible and painful and by the time they would have released you, it would have been too late for you anyway to become a valuable member of society.”

“And what happens to older children?” Florence wanted to know even though she dreaded the answer.

“They are locked up if they’re lucky,” Theresa explained. “It depends on how much magic you have already displayed and how willing you are to cooperate. Sometimes, teenagers are locked up for life and treated like criminals while others are sentenced to death.”

 “But why? It’s not their fault they can do magic. They were born with this ability.”

“Believe me, Florence,” Theresa sighed, “you are not the first person to point this out. But there is no changing these old laws. Our society would need to trust witches and this will never happen.”

Florence shuddered involuntarily when Theresa uses the word witch. So far, a witch had been something that Florence had needed to fear, now she herself was one.

“I know this is scary and new to you, but you will learn to cope with it. Trust me, I learned as well.”

“Are you a witch?” Florence asked. She suddenly felt scared and nervous in the presence of Theresa.

“Yes, I am,” Theresa confirmed. “This is why your mother sent you to me. She knew I would take care of you and keep you safe and teach you how a witch can survive in our society.”

“How do you know my mother?” Florence didn’t mean to be nosy, but she couldn’t explain how her mother could possibly be acquainted with a witch.

“I’m her sister,” Theresa told her, “your aunt. I was sent away to live with my aunt in Italy. Magic runs in our family; your mother has been dreading you displaying signs of it, so she could save you quickly.”

“Will I ever see her again?” Florence asked, trying to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat.

“You might,” Theresa said non-committally. “Not for the next couple of years however.”

“And what will happen with me?”

“You will stay here with me for as long as you like.” For the first time, Theresa smiled at her. “If anyone asks, you are my niece whom I had to take in because your mother is gravely ill. That usually shuts people up. I will teach you everything I know about being a witch and I hope that you will use this knowledge one day to help people, no matter what society tries to do to you.”

*

Florence spent the next couple of months in Theresa’s flat, only leaving it occasionally when Theresa decided she needed a bit of fresh air. At first, Florence was excited because she didn’t have to go to school. Instead, Theresa gave her lessons at home. She learned about spells and potions and it was completely different that anything she had ever studied. But Theresa was a strict teacher and she expected a lot of Florence. Florence had to sit exams and had to do oral check-ups every morning and if Theresa wasn’t satisfied with her performance, she didn’t get a morning break.

After some time, Florence also started to miss talking to people her own age. She hadn’t been popular at school, but she had had a lot of friends and there had always been a birthday party to attend or a friend to visit. Now her only company was a middle-aged woman with whom she didn’t have much in common and who didn’t understand the needs of a 10-year-old girl.

Florence lived in a bubble of her own and had no idea what was going on outside of the confines of Theresa’s flat. Occasionally, Theresa would leave her alone for hours and when she returned, she was sometimes injured or her clothes had been torn, but Florence never asked her what she had been doing.

When Florence was 12, she entered a rebellious phase. Theresa had difficulties convincing her that she was teaching her something useful. Florence talked back to her and refused to spend her days studying. Instead, she demanded that Theresa took her outside and let her explore the world, but Theresa only said that it was too dangerous.

Florence refused to believe that there could be any danger out there. Theresa often told her about what would happen to a witch if she was caught, but Florence couldn’t fathom how something could happen to her. She was only a little girl and if she didn’t use magic in front of anyone, no one would burn her at the stake. So the next time Theresa left her alone, Florence snuck out of the apartment.

It was early spring and it was rainy and windy, but still much warmer than Florence remembered spring in England. The streets were empty and quiet and Florence walked through them, breathing in the crisp, fresh air deeply.

After walking like this for some time, Florence heard loud voices and cheers and, curious, she followed the sounds. Soon, she came to a small square which was filled with people. They were all facing a balcony at the other end of the square. A man was standing on the balcony, speaking in Italian to the gathered crowd. Theresa had yet to teach her Italian and so Florence was unable to understand what was going on. But the people were certainly excited about it because they cheered whenever the man had finished a sentence.

Then the door beneath the balcony opened and two men dragged out a woman who was only wearing a short dress. The crowd was cheering louder than before, but Florence’s blood froze in her veins as she suddenly realised what was going on.

Florence had never seen how a witch who had been caught was treated. The men pushed her around and hit her, much to the entertainment of the crowd. Florence wanted to look away but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.

Then there was movement next to her and she flinched away, but it was only Theresa.

“Florence!” she hissed, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry,” Florence apologised immediately.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Theresa gripped Florence’s wrist. “Come with me.”

Florence didn’t resist and together they quickly rushed back to the apartment. Theresa was anything but gentle with Florence, but Florence knew that she deserved to be punished. They reached the flat without any complications and when Theresa had locked the door, she finally turned to Florence.

“You could have died today,” she snapped. “I hope you are aware of that.”

“Yes,” Florence admitted.

“Then why did you do it after I explicitly told you never to leave the apartment when I’m not there?”

“I was bored and curious,” Florence admitted. Her mother had raised her to always tell the truth and she didn’t hesitate to do so now. Lying would only make the situation worse.

“So you purposefully put yourself in danger for a little thrill?”

“No,” Florence protested. “I didn’t think it’d be so dangerous.”

“And you, a 12-year-old girl, know best what is dangerous and what isn’t?”

“No,” Florence said again, her voice small. “I had no idea that we were in so much danger.”

Theresa sighed deeply. “I also blame myself. I should have taken more care in explaining everything to you. I will not make the same mistake again. Do you have any questions you would like to ask me?”

“What was going on with that woman on the square?” she asked, even though she already knew what the answer would be.

Theresa swallowed hard. “They caught a witch yesterday,” she answered, “the woman you saw. They always do this when they’ve caught one of us, display her like this.”

“But why?”

“Deterrent,” Theresa shrugged. “Or they want to demonstrate their dominance over us. Either way, it’s disgusting.”

Florence didn’t know what to say. “What were you doing there?”

“I was trying to save her,” Theresa told her. “I always try.”

“Is this where you go when you leave here?”

“Yes,” Theresa nodded, “but I usually don’t succeed.”

“Then why do you do it?”

“Because it is my duty as a witch to help others who are in need,” Theresa explained. “You will learn that this is important as well.”

“But why bother if you can’t make a difference anyway?”

Theresa thought long and hard about this question before she answered. “I’m going to take you on a field trip tomorrow. There won’t be any lessons, since we will leave early.”

*

Florence was too nervous to go to sleep that night. She was scared of whatever Theresa had planned for them. It certainly wouldn’t be a nice trip because she had misbehaved today and Theresa would certainly not reward her for that.

The next morning, Theresa was unusually kind to her and made her a big breakfast with toast and eggs and chocolate muffins. She then promised Florence they would go shopping later if Florence behaved herself on the field trip.

They went out around ten. The air was still crisp, but the sun was shining today. Nevertheless, Florence was shivering, and not necessarily from the cold. Theresa was leading her by the hand, back through the streets they had walked only yesterday. Florence had a suspicion where they were going and she would rather stay at home and study.

“I don’t want to go,” she told Theresa when they were nearing the square from yesterday.

“It’s important that you see this,” Theresa told her, pushing forward.

“Why?” Florence was panicking now. “I don’t want to go.”

“Calm down, girl,” Theresa told her.

They had reached the square by then. It was filled with people, just as it had been yesterday. In the middle of the square, a pyre had been set up.

Theresa leaned down to her. “I want you to behave yourself now or we might end up on that pyre as well.”

Florence swallowed hard and nodded.

“Good girl. Now come on.”

Florence followed Theresa reluctantly and they secured a spot at the back of the crowd. The people around them were chatting excitedly. Florence felt like crying, but she had promised Theresa to behave herself.

After a few minutes, during which Theresa didn’t let go of Florence’s hand, the door beneath the balcony opened again. The man who had been on the balcony yesterday stepped outside. Again, he addressed the crowd in Italian, but this time Florence had Theresa with her to translate for her.

“He is talking about how this is another historic victory,” she translated, “and about how we all should celebrate this day.”

“Why?” Florence wanted to know.

“Because another witch has been brought to justice,” Theresa told her.

“But there’s still time,” Florence urged her. “You can still save her.”

“No, I can’t,” Theresa contradicted her, “I am not powerful enough.”

“I can help you. Together we can do it.”

Theresa smiled sadly at her. “I admire your stamina, but you’re not powerful enough yet. But if you study hard, one day you will be.”

Someone next to them shushed.

“Scusi,” Theresa apologised.

They turned back to the man who was speaking. He seemed to be wrapping up now because the cheers of the crowd grew louder and louder. Florence felt like running away. Finally, the woman was dragged outside again. This time, she was naked. Florence had to force herself to keep looking and not turn away in terror. The crowd around them was cheering and throwing things at the woman. Florence wanted to beg Theresa to make them stop, but she knew that her teacher was just as helpless as she was.

The woman was dragged over to the pyre and tied to the log which had been erected in its middle. Florence couldn’t see the look in her eyes because her hair was falling in front of her face. The man walked toward the pyre slowly, prolonging the moment until the woman would burn. Theresa squeezed Florence’s hand firmly, but Florence had trouble suppressing the feeling that she wanted to run away.

“Light it up,” the man said.

Two people who were completely hid behind long, black robes stepped forward, each carrying a torch. When the flames touched the wood, it caught fire immediately. Involuntarily, Florence moved away from the fire.

Theresa gripped her hand harder. “Florence, don’t move,” she hissed a warning.

Slowly, the flames wandered up until they were encasing the woman’s feet. That was when the screaming started. Soon, the air was filled with the smell of burning flesh and the terrible screams. Florence wanted to throw up, but the people around her were cheering louder than before. Then came a point when Florence couldn’t take it any longer and she fainted.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isabella and Laura have a long overdue talk.

Isabella spent the following night between sleep and wakefulness. No one had come yet to take Florence away and Isabella tried to convince herself that there was still time, that she could still come up with a plan to save them both. But her body finally gave in to exhaustion and she fell asleep, only to be woken up again by the guard coughing loudly.

This continued for some time, the guard waking Isabella up as soon as she had fallen asleep, until Florence mumbled something under her breath and the guard began to cough and choke. After that, they took Florence away and Isabella was left alone in the tent.

She worried sick about Florence for the next couple of hours until the sun rose and Laura paid her a visit.

“Good morning,” she said coldly.

“Have you come to gloat?” Isabella couldn’t help but ask.

“No, I came to ask you a couple of follow-up questions to yesterday,” Laura continued in the same cool tone of voice.

“I told you everything I know.” Isabella tried to shrug but her bonds prevented her from doing so.

“But there are still some things I don’t understand,” Laura went on. “I simply can’t fathom why you did the things you did.”

“I answered this question, didn’t I?” Isabella sighed. “Florence is trying to help them, not harm them.”

“You are a well-trained witch hunter,” Laura went on. “At any time, did you have the feeling that the witch was putting you under a spell?”

“No, not at all,” Isabella answered.

“Remember that you are still under oath to tell the truth,” Laura interjected.

“Yes,” Isabella nodded. “Florence made sure that I was doing everything out of my own free will.”

“But why? Why did you betray everything we stand for?”

“I refuse to answer this question,” Isabella told her outright. “I’ve spent the last couple of weeks justifying my behaviour in front of everyone. I’m done with this.”

“I want to help you.” Laura’s voice was shaking again. “I don’t want you to be killed, but if you’re so unreasonable, this is what’s going to happen.”

“Then let it happen,” Isabella snapped. “I don’t care anymore.”

“You can’t mean that,” Laura breathed.

Isabella regretted what she had said, but she also didn’t want to take it back. Laura didn’t deserve being treated like this, but Isabella had enough of people telling her what to do and what to feel and she hated to constantly having to justify every movement she made. But still, she couldn’t bear the thought of hurting Laura.

Isabella took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Laura,” she said slowly. “I’m sorry for hurting you like this, and I’m sorry for making you suffer.”

“Don’t apologise to me.” Laura’s voice was tiny. “Aren’t you scared?”

“Of course I’m scared,” Isabella admitted. “I don’t want to die.”

Instead of asking again why she had ruined her life in the first place, Laura pulled out a key. “I’m going to take the handcuffs off and I trust you not to run away.”

Isabella thought of Victoria and her insistence on Isabella being treated like a war criminal. “Won’t you get in trouble?” she asked as the cold metal came off.

“Let me worry about that,” Laura shrugged. She led Isabella to a table in the middle of the tent. “Leave us.”

The guard she had addressed hesitated. “I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do that.”

“As your commander I’m giving you permission,” Laura told him firmly. “Wait outside and make sure that we are not interrupted.”

With an unsure glance back at Laura, the guard left the tent.

“Please sit,” Laura invited Isabella. “Can I get you anything to drink? Or to eat?”

Isabella, who was thirsty and starving, nodded quickly. Laura walked to a little fridge in one corner and came back with a bottle of water and a sandwich. She sat down next to Isabella and folded her hands in her lap.

“I would suggest a different approach,” Laura opened. “You answer one of my questions and I answer one of yours.”

Isabella nodded. “That sounds fair. Can I start?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Where’s Florence?” Isabella asked immediately.

“She’s at her trial,” Laura answered hesitantly.

“Why are you not there with her?”

“Because she’s being tried according to Italian law, so I cannot be involved in the decision.”

Isabella opened her mouth again to protest, but Laura shook her head.

“That was two questions already,” she pointed out. “It’s my turn now.”

Reluctantly, Isabella sat back in her chair and let Laura speak.

“When did you decide you would work together with the witch?”

Isabella sighed deeply. “I didn’t make this decision from one day to the next. It was a longer process.”

Laura didn’t look happy with the answer but let Isabella ask the next question.

“What will happen to Florence?” Isabella wanted to know.

Laura swallowed hard. “The same that will happen to you. You will both burn at the stake.”

Isabella’s heart began to beat fast and she felt panicky.

Laura looked at her with concern. “I’m sorry, Isabella. The law is the law. What did you think would happen to you?”

“I don’t know,” Isabella admitted. “I didn’t even think we would get caught. I know it was stupid, but we wanted to wait for you to give up. How did you catch us?”

“It was Victoria,” Laura explained. “She is one of the Americans and she specialises in spells and curses. That’s the reason why she was able to get through to you and catch you. I know, she’s a horrible person, but she delivers results.” Laura paused. “Do you love the witch?”

Isabella was taken by surprise by this sudden change of subject. “What?”

“The witch … Florence … are you in love with her?”

Isabella blushed. “Why do you think that?”

“The first question you asked me was about her, not your own well-being.”

“I can ask a question about myself if it makes you feel better,” Isabella eluded Laura’s question.

For the first time, Laura smiled. “Go ahead.”

“How come you don’t have a voice when it comes to Florence, but the Italians can have a say in what happens to me?”

“It’s because you committed a crime in Italy, so you’re being tried according to Italian law.” Laura hesitated. “Or rather, your case is difficult because we weren’t sure which laws should apply to you.”

“And the Americans?” Isabella wanted to know. “They shouldn’t have anything to say at all. They’re not even from this continent.”

“I know,” Isabella said gloomily. “It’s because the mayor hired them. If they could, they would even send Roberto away. He and I are the only people who suggested we should listen to you.”

Isabella’s heart beat faster. She had managed to make two people listen, so maybe it hadn’t been in vain after all.

“My _liberal_ approach to the subject is also the reason why I was sent away now, I think.”

Isabella didn’t say anything. She was thinking about Florence who had to face the two Americans and the mayor on her own. She wished there was something she could do, but she was just as powerless as Florence in this situation.

“Isabella?” Laura brought her back. “You still haven’t answered my question. Do you love her?”

Isabella had completely forgotten about this question and was momentarily confused by it.

“I think you owe me an answer at least,” Laura went on when Isabella remained quiet.

“Would it change anything if I were?” Isabella asked.

“No, you would neither be saved nor condemned,” Laura answered. “I’m just asking for my sake.”

Isabella owed Laura an answer, she knew that. “No,” she said truthfully. “I have feelings for her, but I wouldn’t call them love.”

“What kind of feelings?” Laura asked quietly.

“I don’t know, I haven’t really had time to think about it,” Isabella answered. “Everything happened so fast. Defining my feelings towards Florence isn’t my primary concern at the moment.”

“But how will you know if it was worth it?” Laura wanted to know.

“Was what worth it?” Isabella asked.

“This thing between you and … and Florence.” Laura hesitated again. “You’re going to die for this, Isabella.”

Isabella couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “This thing between me and Florence,” she repeated. “It’s not about that, Laura. It’s about what Florence is doing and that she is helping those girls and not abducting them and keeping them locked up against their will. We should not be hunting her, but those people who force the girls to run away from home in the first place.”

“She’s a witch, Isabella,” Laura reminded her. “You devoted your whole life to hunting them. They are bad people, don’t forget that. They deserve to be punished.”

“Are they bad people though?” Isabella asked. “Think about it. When has a witch ever harmed you personally?”

“I was lucky enough never to have experienced this first-hand,” Laura admitted, “but there are enough people who have.”

“Name one person,” Isabella challenged her.

“What about the parents of all the children that Florence abducted?” Laura said immediately.

“They were horrible to their children and the girls had no choice but to run away,” Isabella explained. “Florence’s only crime was that she offered them shelter and a safe place for them to stay.”

“What about all the other people? What about everything you learned at school?”

“I don’t want to sound as if I’m saying this is all one big conspiracy,” Isabella said, “but do we really have any proof that witches are a danger to us?”

“Lots of proof,” Laura assured her. “Again, think of everything –”

“Have I ever told you the story of how I caught my first witch?” Isabella interrupted her.

Laura shook her head.

“She was deaf and didn’t hear me coming,” Isabella told her, “and she was distracted because she was brewing a potion. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but still I caught her and handed her over to the authorities and she was probably killed. Does that seem fair to you?”

“You don’t know that she hasn’t done anything wrong,” Laura pointed out. “Who says she wasn’t cooking a child when you caught her.”

This time, Isabella laughed whole-heartedly. “In a tiny cauldron? I don’t think so.”

“I still don’t think you should generalise witches like this.” Laura was taken aback by Isabella’s amusement. “There is a reason why we hunt them.”

Isabella’s laughter died in her throat. “ _I’m_ generalising witches? You’re the head of an organisation whose main objective is to kill every witch in England without questioning once if what you’re doing is right.”

“May I remind you that you’re a part of this organisation?”

“Am I still? Am I not a horrible traitor?”

Laura looked beaten. “I want to believe you, I really do,” she sighed, “but it goes against everything I fought for all my life.”

“I’ve had the same experiences as you. I have the same job. And still I believe that we have treated witches wrongly all these years. Tell me that you still find it hard to believe me.”

“Yes, I do,” Laura insisted. “We still don’t have any proof that the witch didn’t influence you and I simply can’t risk everything just because you tell me to. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“Then ask all the girls. Or if you don’t trust them, have the police investigate. There must be some proof somewhere,” Isabella begged.

Her spirit to fight had returned. Laura might be reluctant to believe her, but Isabella knew that she would support her, could she find proof for that what she was saying was true.

“I’m not sure if I can do that,” Laura said hesitantly. “The Americans and the mayor don’t trust me.”

“What about Roberto?” Isabella pushed her. “Roberto seems to like us. If we had Roberto on our side –”

Laura interrupted her. “ _Our_ side?” she repeated. “I’m on the side of the law and you thinking you’re right doesn’t change the fact that you broke it.”

Isabella felt like all the air had been knocked out of her.

“Nevertheless,” Laura continued, “I’m also trying to uphold the law and fight injustice whenever I can. I will help you, Isabella, but don’t think I have forgiven you.”

“Thank you.” Isabella smiled at her.

“I cannot promise that they won’t convict Florence,” Laura continued, “and I will work on getting you out of this situation, but not her.”

Isabella nodded. She wanted to argue Florence’s case, but she had to cherish the small victories. All she could do was to try and prolong Florence’s life.

“Can you at least promise me that Florence will be kept alive until I have proven I was right?”

“That’s a big favour you’re asking of me,” Laura sighed. “I don’t think anyone will listen to me. As soon as the mayor orders Florence’s execution, no one will be able to prevent them from going through with it.”

“I know.” Isabella swallowed. “Just please … do whatever you can to save her.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Florence is on trial and is sentenced.

When they came to take Florence away, she knew exactly where she was going. She had no idea why they were pretending that the outcome of the trial wasn’t set in stone. This was the second time Florence was on trial, but last time she had been dealing with a bunch of idiots. The people here were anything but idiots, especially the Americans, and Florence needed to come up with a good plan fast if she wanted to live.

They led her through an improvised camp and when she looked around, she was glad to discover that she wasn’t far away from the forest. But she couldn’t go back, should she escape. It wasn’t save now. This women had been able to get through to them once and there was nothing that indicated that she wouldn’t be able to do it again.

Florence also worried about the girls. They were without protection and she couldn’t even be sure if they were still alive. The most important thing now was that she managed to escape and get back to the girls before they did something stupid.

And she also had Isabella to worry about. Isabella’s life was at stake, like hers. They would never forgive her or pardon her, not after they had found them both in bed together like this. There was no denying what they had been doing.

They led her into a tent where a long, wooden table dominated the furnishings. She was tied to a chair in front of the table and was left waiting like this for more than an hour. Florence knew that they wanted to wear her down, but she refused to be annoyed by this.

Finally, the woman who had caught them came into the tent, followed by three men. Florence couldn’t help but notice that Laura was missing and she had to laugh at herself because she had expected to finally meet Laura face-to-face and was now disappointed. The four took their seats and then the woman began to speak.

“We are gathered here today to decide what will happen with this witch,” she said. “She is accused of kidnapping and brainwashing, next to being a witch, of course. The last point would already be enough to sentence her to death, but since her crimes also involve manipulating one of our finest hunters, we need to be more thorough in our investigation.” She grinned wickedly. “We already know how thorough Isabella investigated the witch, but that doesn’t mean we’re allowed to be idle.”

Florence wanted to roll her eyes, but she resisted the temptation.

“I will start with my questions,” the woman went on, “and if there is anything left you would like to address, feel free to ask.”

She stood up and straightened the blouse she was wearing. Florence swallowed hard and braced herself for intimate questions she would never in her life dream of answering.

“Don’t be too harsh on her, Victoria,” one of the men said. Florence recognised him as Roberto, the Guild Leader in Florence.

Victoria laughed coldly. “State your name for the record,” she addressed Florence.

“Florence Welch,” Florence answered.

“Are you or are you not a witch?” Victoria went on.

“Yes, I’m a witch,” Florence confirmed.

“Are you aware that it is against the law to practice witchcraft?” Victoria wanted to know.

“Are you aware that it is against the law to rape children?”

“Just answer the question,” Victoria cut her short.

“Yes, I am aware that it is against the law,” Florence sighed.

“And still you are leading a life as a witch.” Victoria shook her head in disappointment.

“Well, it’s either that or death,” Florence pointed out, “and I’m not keen on dying.”

Victoria laughed again. “It’s not only witchcraft that is illegal, kidnapping is also against the law.”

“I never kidnapped anyone, so I’m not sure why this is relevant,” Florence shrugged.

“You kidnapped 32 girls in the last six months,” Victoria told her, “more than five girls each month.”

Florence shook her head. “No, they came to me out of their own free will.”

“They suddenly vanished from their homes without saying goodbye, without so much as leaving a note,” Victoria recounted. “Those are suspicious circumstances.”

“Well, if your parents are horrible to you, you wouldn’t want them to know where you’re going.” Florence looked at Victoria challengingly.

“I grant you, one or two of the girls might have run away,” Victoria was prepared to admit, “but more than 30 in six months?” She turned to the people behind her for dramatic effect before facing Florence again. “And why now? Why has every girl in Florence who was in a fight with her parents suddenly decided to run away?”

“Because I offered them a safe place where they could go,” Florence explained. “And it isn’t my place to discuss this, but it was more than a fight with their parents that made them leave.”

“I find it hard to believe a witch. There is no proof that you are telling the truth.”

“To be fair,” Roberto interrupted, “Isabella told us the same.”

“Yes, because this witch manipulated her to think that,” Victoria snapped.

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t a fair trial,” Roberto interrupted her again. “You reject everything that is being said.”

“Because we can’t trust witches?” Victoria made it sound like a question, as if Roberto was stupid.

“Then why are we having this trial in the first place?” Roberto wanted to know.

“Because Laura insisted on it,” Victoria told him, “but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. And anyway, since when do witches deserve a fair trial?”

“It’s not just a witch this time, it’s also one of our own,” Roberto reminded her.

“No need to make a fuss,” the man sitting at the end of the table said. He had a thick, American accent and Florence recognised him as one of the people who had caught them. “We shouldn’t pretend that we don’t already know how this is going to end. Victoria, please proceed.”

Florence would have laughed, had this situation not been so serious.

Victoria turned back to her. “Isabella Summers,” she said, “did you or did you not put her under a spell?”

“I did not,” Florence answered.

“In her statement, Isabella told us that you came to her in her dreams,” Victoria pointed out. “This sounds as if you had used magic on her.”

“You asked me if I had put her under a spell, not if I used magic on her,” Florence shrugged.

For a moment, Florence thought Victoria would hit her, but then Victoria lowered her hand. Maybe she was scared of Florence.

“So you admit that you used magic to contact Isabella?”

“Yes.”

Victoria turned to the panel once again. “And here you have proof,” she announced. “Isabella told us that their relationship wasn’t influenced by magic, now the witch has admitted to using it.”

“Just bear with me,” Roberto interrupted Victoria again. “You can’t just choose the parts you want to fit what you want to hear. If you say the witch can’t be believed when she says she is trying to help those girls, then you also can’t believe her now.”

“How many trials have you witnessed?” Victoria asked Roberto.

“About 30 since I became Guild Leader,” Roberto answered her.

“I lead at least 30 trials a year, so who do you think has more experience with this?”

“You should really let Victoria do her job,” the American told Roberto. “I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.”

“Mayor, you can’t let this pass,” Roberto addressed the man who had been quiet so far.

“The way I see it,” the mayor said, “is that my daughter was abducted by this witch and I want to see justice done.”

“But this isn’t justice.”

Florence felt the need to tell Roberto to calm down because he was agitated by now.

“I didn’t know you cared so much about witches.”

“I don’t care about witches,” Roberto defended himself, “but I care about my colleagues. And one of them is also on trial here and there is no effort to make this trial fair in any way.”

“She’s a traitor, isn’t she?” the American shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry too much about her.”

Victoria tapped her foot impatiently. “Let’s move on, shall we?”

Florence knew that she shouldn’t be enjoying herself, but she found Victoria’s annoyance hilarious.

“Is there anything you would like to say in your defence?” Victoria turned back to Florence.

“Can I call witnesses?” Florence asked.

“Like who?” Victoria grinned maliciously. “Who would put their life in danger and take the stand for you?”

“The girls back at the house,” Florence answered immediately.

“The girls you manipulated for weeks, if not months? I don’t think so.”

“Isabella also told us to ask the girls,” Roberto reminded Victoria.

“I’ve had enough of your interruptions,” Victoria snapped.

“She’s right,” the American encouraged Victoria.

“Seeing that I am the only Italian here,” Roberto said coldly, “who is qualified to pass judgement, you should probably listen to me?”

“Now, come come, Roberto,” the mayor tried to appease him. “We’re all friends here. Let them do their job.”

“Then I refuse to be a part of this,” Roberto told them, standing up. “I refuse to convict one of our own based on this flimsy excuse for a trial.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” the mayor said carefully. “Sit down, won’t you?”

Florence had never been this entertained in her entire life and she couldn’t help but smile.

“What are you laughing at?” Victoria snapped.

Florence stopped laughing immediately. “Nothing.”

This time, Victoria did hit her. “Stop lying,” she shouted.

Florence was taken aback by the sudden outburst of violence and so was Roberto.

“Victoria, you have to stop abusing our prisoners,” he said, sitting back down again.

“She’s just a dirty witch.” Victoria spat on the ground.

“I have to agree with you there,” the mayor nodded, “but if you wouldn’t mind, before we come to a conclusion here, I have a couple of questions for the witch.”

“Yes, of course, sir.” Victoria moved around the table and sat down without another word.

The mayor didn’t stand up like Victoria had done but remained in his seat, casually laid back. “I just have one or two questions concerning my daughter,” he opened, “nothing too difficult to answer, I should think.”

He chuckled at his own words. Florence thought he was utterly despicable. Even though he hadn’t done anything to harm her, she still felt repulsed when she looked at him.

“Now, do you know where my daughter is?” the mayor wanted to know.

“No, not for sure,” Florence told him. “I don’t know what the Americans did to the girls.”

“We did nothing,” Victoria shrugged when the mayor looked at her.

Florence felt relief but made sure not to show it. “Then I know where she is,” she answered.

“Will you tell me?”

“No, I won’t,” Florence refused.

“You are aware that we have ways to make you talk, don’t you?” the mayor said in a calm tone of voice.

“You can try, but I can’t promise you that you will be successful,” Florence shrugged.

The mayor refused to be provoked by Florence. Instead, he continued in the same calm tone. “Will you tell me how she is? Is she all right? Did you harm her in any way?”

Florence felt sickened by his display of concern over his daughter. “Why do you care so much about her?” she asked him. “Don’t you have other children you can abuse?”

Victoria jumped up, but the mayor motioned her to sit back down.

“This is the second time in a short span of time that I’ve been accused of abusing my daughter,” the mayor said slowly, “and I don’t know where you get this idea from.”

“Because your daughter told me what you do to her,” Florence explained, “and she decided to share this information with Isabella, so she knew about it as well, if this is what you are wondering.”

“And why did you believe her?”

“Why shouldn’t I? When a young girl comes to me and tells me her father is abusing her, I don’t call her a liar and send her away, do I?”

“And it never occurred to you that she might be lying?” the mayor pressed on. “Such lies can ruin a man’s career, you know.”

“Not if there is no truth to the accusations,” Florence pointed out, “so if she’s lying, there’s no reason to be so worried about this.”

For the first time, the mayor dropped his cold exterior. “Yes, there’s always a reason to be worried when a woman spreads lies about a man because women get listened to.”

“That’s not quite true,” Florence contradicted him. “Otherwise, there would have been no need for all the girls who come to me to run away in the first place.”

“What we do know,” Victoria interjected, “is that we can never believe a witch.” She turned to the mayor. “I promise you that we will bring back your daughter unharmed.”

It was Roberto who laughed at Victoria’s statement this time. “That’s rich coming from someone who works for an organisation which is famous for not caring about civilian casualties.”

Victoria laughed as well. “I didn’t say we would bring back any of the other girls, did I?”

Now it was Roberto’s turn to address the mayor. “And you will let this happen?” he asked. “The girls are all citizens of your town.”

“I find it difficult to care about anything else when my daughter’s life is at stake,” the mayor admitted. “Do you have children, Roberto?”

“Yes, I have a daughter.”

“And if she had been taken by the witch, wouldn’t you be prepared to do anything to get her back?”

“Yes, I would, but I also know what it feels like to be a parent and I wouldn’t kill any of the other girls to get my daughter back. Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to a parent.”

“He cares neither about his daughter, nor the other girls,” Florence interjected. “Don’t you see? This is all a big farce.”

“Anyway,” the mayor continued, acting as if he hadn’t heard Florence, “I think it’s time for a verdict. I have heard enough and know what I will suggest and if everyone is ready as well, I’d say we should go and decide on the verdict.”

The American and Victoria nodded. Only Roberto was on the fence, but he still agreed to come with them. They left Florence in the care of a guard whom she couldn’t see but knew was standing somewhere behind her because Victoria had addressed him earlier. She couldn’t try and loosen her handcuffs which were tying her to the chair because the guard would notice. She also couldn’t use magic to escape. Even if she managed to get out of the tent, there were too many witch hunters outside and she wouldn’t be able to escape from the camp without using a dangerous amount of magic. All she could do was await her verdict and hope that she would be able to escape before they burned her at the stake.

Florence couldn’t deceive herself. She knew that they would come back and tell her that she would be executed. She wasn’t too worried about this because she had been in this situation before and had been able to escape. Granted, the Americans were skilled and the mayor was desperate, but there was still hope. And now that she knew that the girls were all right, she was eager to get back to them and bring them to safety.

The only problem was Isabella. Florence had no problem admitting to herself that she had feelings for Isabella, that she probably was in love with her, and that she didn’t want to lose her to this injustice. Before she could leave here, she had to make sure that Isabella was all right and, if possible, take her with her. The last thing she wanted to do was leave her at the mercy of those people here, knowing full well that leaving her here would be a death sentence for Isabella.

Florence had to wait longer than she had thought. Apparently, the verdict was not yet set in stone. Florence had her money on Roberto – he was probably campaigning for a mistrial.

After some time, she heard movement behind her, but was unable to turn around due to her bonds.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, you can’t come in here,” the guard said.

“I need to speak with the mayor.”

Florence recognised Laura’s voice and her heart began to beat faster. She hadn’t accounted for her in the equation earlier.

“He’s not here at the moment,” the guard told her.

“Do you know where he is?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that,” was the short answer.

“You _can’t_ or you _won’t_?” Laura tried to clarify.

“It’s none of my business,” the guard answered, “but you are welcome to wait here for him.”

“No, this can’t wait,” Laura declined. “If you don’t want to tell me where he is, then I have to go and look for him myself.”

“As you wish.”

Florence heard Laura close the tent and there was silence again.

This time, she didn’t have to wait for long until something happened again. The mayor and his panel came back, followed by Laura, who was visibly agitated. This was only the second time Florence had seen Laura. Since the last time, she had lost weight and her hair wasn’t as shiny as it had been. This whole situation was clearly upsetting for her and Florence had to give her credit for caring so much about Isabella.

“Calm yourself, Laura,” Victoria snapped at her. “He said no; leave him alone.”

“Please, Victoria, no need to defend me,” the mayor silenced her. Then he turned to Laura. “I told you, I will not hesitate to execute this verdict. If you want to get your friend out of this, you’ll have to work fast.”

“Just give me a week,” Laura begged. “A few days.”

The mayor smiled at her. “I don’t think so.”

Before Laura could protest, there was movement behind Florence and then Laura breathed a weak, “Isabella.”

For the first time, Florence struggled against her bonds but there was no use. They didn’t bring Isabella into the middle of the tent, so Florence couldn’t see her.

“Now that we are all gathered here,” the mayor said, “it is time to render the verdict. Rest assured that we considered this case for a long time and investigated it thoroughly.”

“No, you did not,” Laura snapped. “And I do not recognise this verdict.”

The mayor ignored her. “This only acceptable punishment for your crime, witch,” he addressed Florence, “is death by fire. You will burn at the stake two days from now at dusk.”

Florence had expected this verdict, but wasn’t too worried by it. Two days gave her enough time to come up with an escape plan.

“Isabella Summers,” the mayor went on, “you betrayed your Guild and let yourself be manipulated by a witch. Your crimes far surpass these of the witch in the eyes of this panel. This is why you will hang today at dusk.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls back at the house work out a plan to rescue Florence from the witch hunters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick heads up: I figured out how this story will end and there are only a couple of chapters left, just so you're all prepared that it will be over soon.

Nora woke up the next morning. At first, she thought she had overslept because the sun was already high in the sky, but Florence would have woken her up. Still, Nora felt restless, so she got up to go down to the kitchen. On her way, she met some of the other girls who came out of their rooms, looking for someone to tell them what they should do.

“It’s already 10,” one of the girls told Nora. “Why did no one come to wake us up?”

Nora also found this more than odd, but she didn’t want to lose her head in front of the others. “I’m going to go to Florence’s room and have a look,” she told the others. “Just wait here for a minute.”

The girls were glad that someone was showing initiative and no one fought her for the privilege of finding out what had happened to Florence. Nora made her way to the end of the corridor where the door to Florence’s room was. It was closed, as always, because usually they weren’t allowed to go inside. Nora remembered yesterday evening – Florence had left with Isabella and she hoped that nothing worse would happen than her stumbling upon them lying next to each other, probably naked. This would be awkward for the three of them, but would also explain why Florence hadn’t bothered to wake them up.

Nora knocked at the door and when there was no answer, she pushed it open. The room was empty, but the bed looked slept in. Nora had expected everything but this.

“Florence?” she asked carefully. Then repeated it louder, but there was no answer.

“She’s not in the room,” Nora told the others when she returned.

“She might be outside,” Lisa pointed out, “you know, a romantic breakfast in the morning sun and all.”

Nora, again, offered to look for Florence outside and Lisa volunteered to accompany her. Together, they walked down the stairs before they split up, Nora taking the garden at the back and Lisa walking out the front door. The kitchen as well as the garden were empty and when Nora called Florence’s name, there was, again, no answer.

Returning to the entrance hall, she met up with Lisa who had found something outside.

“There are tracks,” she told Nora, pointing at the ground. “Big cars probably.”

“But what does it mean?” Nora asked. “Florence doesn’t have a car, does she?”

Lisa shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“And Isabella didn’t come here with a car either, did she?” Nora mumbled.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Lisa sighed. “Florence was taken by the witch hunters.”

“What? How?”

“Isabella betrayed us all. I told Florence she shouldn’t trust her, but she didn’t listen to me.”

“So you think it was Isabella’s plan to get captured and then lure Florence away so the witch hunters could get to her?” Nora had difficulties believing this because Isabella had made the impression as if she would genuinely care for them and their problems.

“Well, did you hear any unusual sounds last night?” Lisa wanted to know.

“No, not really,” Nora answered thoughtfully, “but that doesn’t mean anything. I usually don’t hear sounds when I’m asleep.”

“I didn’t hear anything either,” Lisa shrugged, “and I have a very light sleep. There was no struggle last night.”

“So you think Isabella led Florence into a trap and she was captured?” Nora didn’t want to think about this because she didn’t know what they would do without Florence.

“Maybe someone heard or saw something,” Lisa thought out loud. “Let’s go and ask them.”

Most of the girls were already waiting for them on the steps or inside in the entrance hall and who was still missing was slowly coming down the stairs.

“What’s going on?” one of them asked.

“We think Florence has been abducted,” Lisa said immediately without sugar-coating anything.

Some of the girls gasped.

“I think Isabella betrayed us all and lured Florence into a trap,” Lisa went on. “Did any of you hear anything last night? Any sounds? Anything out of the ordinary?”

Some of the girls exchanged glances, but most of them shook their heads immediately.

“Anyone?” Nora added. “Anything could help us find her.”

One of the girls, Carina, raised her hand slowly.

“Yes?” Lisa asked impatiently.

“I heard people walk past my room,” Carina answered. “I thought it was just some of you leaving the party, but then I looked at my watch and it was half past three in the morning. It could be that I heard Florence and Isabella leave, but it sounded more than two people.”

“And you are absolutely certain that it was not one of us?” Lisa enquired.

“I don’t know,” Carina shrugged. “It could have been.” She turned around to face the girls who were still standing on the stairs. “Did any of you go to bed really late?”

They all shook their heads.

“How many people did you hear?” Nora asked.

“Five or six, maybe more,” Carina answered, “but definitely more than two.”

“Is anyone else missing?” Lisa asked immediately.

The girls looked around and shook their heads.

“What shall we do now?” Carina asked into the room.

“We have to get Florence back,” Lisa decided.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Nora asked her. “We have no idea where she is, we have no idea who took her and if she is even still alive.”

Lisa turned to her immediately. “Don’t even think that,” she hissed. “Of course she is still alive. This is Florence we are talking about. But you wouldn’t know that. You don’t know here as long as I do.”

Nora was shocked by Lisa’s outburst and didn’t know what to say.

“Calm down, Lisa,” Carina told her. “I’m sure Nora didn’t mean to offend anyone. I’m sure Florence is fine. It usually takes a couple of days to convict a witch.”

“Then there’s no time to lose,” Lisa said. “Anyone who wants to help should meet in the kitchen, the rest of you please return to your rooms and lay low.”

Nora wasn’t happy with Lisa taking the lead like this, but this was no time to fight over who should be the leader. Instead, Nora immediately made her way to the kitchen, eager to help to get Florence back.

Surprisingly many people gathered in the kitchen. Lisa watched the proceedings, a pleased smile on her face. When they were all gathered, Lisa stepped away from the wall against which she had been leaning and began to speak.

“The most important thing right now is that the find out where they keep Florence,” Lisa began, “then we can decide how we will proceed.”

“If I may say something,” Nora interjected, “didn’t Isabella talk about a camp right at the edge of the forest? We could start there.”

“Yes,” Lisa agreed. “As much as I mistrust Isabella, she was telling the truth about this camp. Florence confirmed it.”

“So what do you propose we should do?” Nora asked. “We can’t just walk into camp and demand that they give Florence back to us.”

“Can’t we?” Lisa grinned at her. “Last week, Florence told us about this potion that makes you invisible.”

“But that’s too difficult for us to make,” one of the girls in the back exclaimed. “Florence told us we would need to study at least two years longer in order to be able to make it.”

“We can always try,” Lisa said determinately. “We are all clever, I’m sure we’ll be able to do it.”

“And who’s going to take the potion?” Nora asked. “It’s not as if we could die if we make a mistake.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll drink it,” Lisa assured her. “Shall we get going then? Because the more time we spend arguing about this, the more time we lose which we could be spending on rescuing Florence.”

The others nodded in agreement and they made their way upstairs to the potions laboratory. Everyone was eager to help, but Lisa picked out two or three people to help her, the rest had to go and calm down the others.

Nora was chosen to stay with Lisa and spent the next three hours fetching her ingredients and making sure that the fire below the cauldron wasn’t getting too hot. Even though Lisa was bossy, Nora still enjoyed having something to do which was distracting her. This way, she didn’t have to think about Florence in captivity and all their lives at stake. They wouldn’t be able to survive a week with Florence gone.

Lisa kept them busy until the early afternoon when she decided that the potion was finished. It wasn’t quite as thick as it should have been according to the book, but Lisa said it would be just fine.

“There’s no time to lose,” she announced after she had gathered everyone in the entrance hall. “I’m going to leave right now. If I’m not back by nightfall, do everything you can to make the house as secure as you can.”

“Be careful,” Nora told her. “Don’t take any risks. And don’t try to rescue Florence on your own. Come back and get us before you do anything.”

Lisa nodded and filled some of the potion into a flask. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything reckless.” She kissed Nora on the forehead. “Take care of the others while I’m gone.”

*

Nora spent the remainder of the day sitting on the stairs outside, waiting for Lisa to return. The more she watched the sun wander across the sky and sink lower, the more nervous she became until her hands were sweaty and she didn’t know what to do with herself. Carina brought her a snack, but she couldn’t swallow anything. She felt like she had done when her mother had been in hospital after she had been in a car accident and she had waited there for news on whether she would live or not.

Lisa returned just when the sun was setting. Nora saw her first when she appeared at the edge of the forest and jumped up to run and greet her.

Lisa looked tired and worn out and somehow less solid than this morning, side effects of the potion she had taken. She nevertheless hugged Nora and let herself be led back to the house.

“What did you find out?” Carina asked.

Everyone was waiting for them outside the house, tension written all over their faces.

“It’s just as we had thought,” Lisa answered. “They caught Florence and are keeping her locked up.”

“And Isabella?” Nora asked.

“I didn’t see her,” Lisa replied. “I don’t know where she is or what she is doing, but that they aren’t keeping her locked up speaks for what I thought all along. Isabella betrayed Florence and thereby all of us.”

“What else did you learn? Is there anything we could do to save them?” Nora asked quickly so she wouldn’t have to think about Isabella betraying them all.

“We can try to save her, yes,” Lisa nodded. “I don’t think they are expecting anything like this because they caught Florence and they aren’t expecting any other witches to cause them trouble.”

“What about the Americans Isabella was so scared of?” Nora wanted to know. “Did you see them?”

“I don’t know how to recognise them,” Lisa answered honestly, “but there are a lot of people in the camp. I had to be careful not to bump into anyone.”

“So what can we do?” Carina wanted to know. “Shall we go back now and try to save her?”

“How would we do that? None of us are very good at magic,” Nora added for consideration.

“We can learn,” Lisa said determinately. “Florence has so many books, there has to be a spell in them which we can use.”

Carina nodded. “Yes, let’s do that.”

“Nora?”

“Okay,” Nora agreed even though she just wanted to sleep. “But next time we’re coming with you, especially if you’re going to perform a difficult spell.”

They spent the whole night in Florence’s library on the floor surrounded by books and candles. Nora read reports over reports on witches saving other witches from certain death. Lisa looked up spells they could use to help Florence while Carina wrote down everything they shouted at her.

When the sun rose the next morning, all three of them were tired and couldn’t keep their eyes open. Lisa ordered them to sleep for a couple of hours before they would decide on a plan of action.

When Nora woke up again, she felt more tired than she had done before she had gone to sleep. But Lisa was shaking her awake and didn’t stop until Nora told her she was up.

“What’s the time?” Nora asked sleep-drunkenly.

“It’s midday,” Lisa answered. “We should get a move on if we still want to get things done.”

“What’s the plan then?” Nora asked.

“Well, you know that spell we found yesterday, the one that makes people blind?”

“There are so many people, do you really think we can blind them all?”

“Yes,” Lisa answered without hesitation. “We have to do it, there is no other choice.”

“So you know what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it?”

Lisa nodded excitedly. “I thought that we could drink the invisibility potion and walk to the camp and see what’s going on. Then we’ll wait for a good opportunity to rescue Florence, which will, of course, involve us using a spell.”

“Which might not work,” Nora pointed out. “It’s a really powerful spell.”

“We can always try. It’s better than not doing anything and letting Florence die.”

“Let’s go then,” Nora said. “Who else is going to come with us?”

“No one, it’s just us,” Lisa said. “I don’t want to risk anyone else’s lives.”

*

Nora and Lisa were kneeling in the dirt outside of the camp, hiding behind trees. Even though Nora hadn’t been with Florence long, she still felt out of place in this “normal” world. Lisa, who had been with Florence much longer than Nora regarded the happenings before her with disgust.

“I hate people,” she spat under her breath.

Nora knew what she meant, but she wanted to focus on the task at hand and not on her hatred, so she didn’t say anything.

“So where are they keeping Florence?” Nora asked.

“Somewhere over there.” Lisa pointed to an area somewhere to their right. “You can’t see it from here.”

Nora nodded and pulled a small phial out of her bag. “Are you ready then?” she asked, handing Lisa the phial.

Lisa uncorked it. “Yes,” she nodded. “You won’t be able to see me once we’ve drunken this, so don’t let go of my hand. When I squeeze it, we say the spell, okay?”

Nora nodded. She watched Lisa drink the potion and vanish before her eyes, hair and clothes and all. Then she picked the phial out of thin air and drank it herself. It was a weird feeling not to be able to see your own body but still feel it. She could also feel Lisa’s hand and let herself be led by it to the camp, careful not to trip over her own, invisible feet.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Florence is rescued but Nora and Lisa leave Isabella behind. Florence refuses to leave without her because she couldn't live with herself if Isabella should die because of her.

Florence felt shock. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t protest, she couldn’t even breathe. There would be enough time to save herself, two days were plenty, but to come up with a plan to save Isabella in a couple of hours was impossible. And yet, she still had to try because she couldn’t bear the thought of losing Isabella.

They could drag her back to her cage without much resistance and lock her up again. Isabella was in the tent as well, as were two guards. Again, they couldn’t speak to each other, but there was so much that Florence wanted to tell Isabella. She had to tell her everything would be all right, even if it was a lie. Isabella needed to know that Florence was working on getting her out of this, that she wouldn’t let her choke to death without trying to make this right. But she couldn’t talk to Isabella and it was killing her to see her cowering like this, thinking these were the last few hours of her life.

After some time, the guards were called outside and Florence and Isabella were alone for the first time since they had been caught. Florence couldn’t believe her luck and wanted to make sure she made use of this time.

“Isabella,” she hissed, “Isabella, look at me.”

Isabella didn’t move.

“Come on, Isabella, we don’t have much time,” Florence implored her. “Please, just let me see your face.”

This time, Isabella listened to her and turned her head. The first thing Florence saw was that Isabella had been crying. She wanted to take her up in her arms and kiss the tears away, but she couldn’t.

“Listen to me, Isabella,” she said quickly. “I’m going to get you out of this, I promise.”

Isabella shook her head. “If it was in your power to save us, you would have done so already.”

Florence felt hurt by Isabella’s words, but she didn’t let it show. “I _will_ get you out of this,” Florence repeated. “There’s still time left. Just trust me.”

Isabella shook her head again. “No, it’s too late, but thank you.”

“Look, I know that I failed you and that you’re angry with me,” Florence said softly, “but I _will_ get you out of this, even if it will cost me my own life. You’re too important to die like this.”

Isabella wanted to say something, but at this moment Laura and two guards came into the tent.

“Quiet!” one of the guards ordered immediately.

Laura glared at him, but didn’t reprimand him. “We’ve come to take you away, Isabella,” she said slowly. “You are to be kept in a different tent until this evening.”

“No,” Florence interrupted. “Why?”

The guard who had spoken earlier opened his mouth again, but Laura was quicker.

“Prisoners whose execution is imminent are kept in a different place,” she answered without looking at Florence directly.

“Why? What’s wrong with her staying here?”

“Nothing,” Laura shrugged. “It’s just the way it is.” She turned to the guards. “Unlock her and let’s go.”

Florence’s mind was racing. She couldn’t protest, she couldn’t prevent it, she couldn’t save Isabella. All she could do was stay here and watch them walk Isabella away from her to her certain doom.

Then the world went dark. One moment, Florence watched from the cage as they unlocked Isabella’s handcuffs and led her across the tent, the next she couldn’t see anything. It was as if someone had turned off the sun and there wasn’t a single source of light left. All she could do was listen to the screams and shouts of everyone, not just inside the tent, but around the whole camp. Florence mumbled a spell which would improve her hearing; she didn’t want to use one yet which would give her her eyesight back because she didn’t know what she was dealing with.

She immediately noticed that there were two more people in the tent than there should be. Someone opened her cage and took her hand softly.

“Come on, Florence, it’s time to go.”

It was Lisa’s voice. Florence was so surprised that she didn’t move right away. Only when Lisa pulled her hand impatiently did she crawl out of her cage. Then there was another hand around hers and a second voice rang in her ears.

“We need to hurry.”

It was Nora.

“Florence, don’t let go of our hands,” Lisa told her. “We’ll get you out of here.”

Florence let herself be led by Nora and Lisa. The shouts followed them on their way, people screaming that they couldn’t see and others telling them to stay calm with panic in their voices. Then the sounds grew quieter and Florence felt soft ground beneath her feet and then she stood in the cool shade of the forest.

“Don’t worry,” Lisa told her, “the spell should wear off soon.”

“We need to keep going,” Nora pressed. “I can still see the camp.”

“Do you feel comfortable walking with us?” Lisa asked. “I promise we won’t push you in a ditch.”

“I trust you,” Florence told her, “lead the way.”

The two girls began to walk again and Florence followed them, aware of every sound around her. When she strained her ears, she could even still hear the sounds from the camp.

They walked like this for half an hour longer until Florence’s eyesight began to return. The light came back first and burned in her eyes, so she closed them quickly until the shimmer behind her eyelids was bearable. Next, she could see the outlines of larger objects, like trees. Only Lisa and Nora remained invisible.

Florence stopped walking. “Where are you?” she asked.

“We’re invisible,” came Lisa’s voice from her right hand side. “That’s how we were able to get into the camp.”

“That’s a very dangerous potion.” Florence was shocked, yet impressed. “And you did it all by yourself?”

“Lisa did most of the work,” Nora answered from her left.

“Well done, Lisa,” Florence said. She turned around. “But where’s Isabella?”

“We didn’t get her,” Lisa answered.

“But why not?” Florence’s relief which had come with being rescued vanished.

“Because she’s the reason why you were captured in the first place,” Lisa answered.

“No, no, that’s not what happened,” Florence said passionately. “The Americans came and took us away. They have this woman, Victoria, and she somehow managed to get past my spells, they probably weren’t as strong as I had thought.”

“And you believe that?”

Lisa’s voice had an incredulous tone to it. It was hard for Florence to have this conversation with her and not be able to see her face.

“Yes, because I was there, Lisa,” Florence reminded her, “as opposed to you. I know what happened.”

“We need you, Florence.” It was Nora’s voice. “Everyone back at the house needs you. Especially now. We have to work fast.

“Isabella also needs me. They’re going to kill her tonight if we don’t do something.”

“Why?” Lisa sounded surprised.

“Because she tried to help us,” Florence answered. “And they say she’s a traitor. Her crimes are considered to be worse than mine. And she’s in this situation because of me. That’s why I have to get her out of there before it’s too late.”

On her left side, Nora began to reappear. “Don’t you want to come back with us and rest for a while before you storm off to save Isabella?”

“There’s no time.” Florence sounded desperate, even to her own ears.  She looked up at the sky. “The sun is already sinking. We only have a couple of hours left to get her out of there.”

Nora didn’t look happy. “What do you want us to tell the others? That we saved you and you decided to go back to get the woman who betrayed you? Or at least everyone thinks she did?”

“All you need to know is that Isabella defended me and also everyone of you,” Florence told her. “She could have lied and told them we had put her under a spell, but she didn’t.”

“Do you want us to go back with you?” Lisa asked. She was also slowly reappearing. “Because if you ask us to, we will.”

Both Nora and Florence looked at her in surprise.

“What?” Lisa asked impatiently. “It’s obvious that Florence wants to go and rescue Isabella and by standing here and arguing about it, we lose precious time. So do you want us to come with you?”

“I thought you didn’t like Isabella,” Nora pointed out.

“But I like Florence and when Florence wants to rescue her, I am the last person to stand in her way.” She looked at Florence. “And in the way of her happiness,” she added.

“Yes, if you want to come with me.” Florence smiled at her. “I can use all the help I can get.”

“How about you, Nora? Will you come with us?” Lisa asked.

“Of course I will,” Nora agreed. “But what’s the plan? Because we don’t have any potion left and there isn’t enough time to go and get more.”

“No more hiding,” Florence told them. “If we’re going to do this, we will do it publicly. I’m sick of hiding like this. They have to know that we will not be oppressed like this any longer.”

“We could die,” Nora said breathlessly.

“As we could if we remain hiding like this,” Florence pointed out. “Wouldn’t it be better to die while showing everyone how unjust killing witches is?”

“Yes, it would.” Lisa had a shimmer in her eyes which told Florence that she was on board with this idea.

“We won’t force you to come with us if you don’t want to,” Florence told Nora. “I know that this is difficult for you, more difficult than it is for me or Lisa.”

“No, I want to come,” Nora said determinately. “I want to show them that they can’t keep treating us like this.”

“I don’t want you to come if you’re not one hundred percent sure.” Florence hesitated. “Your father is there.”

A shadow fell across Nora’s face. “No, I really want to come.”

Florence smiled at her. “So it is decided then. But I don’t want you to take any risks. Let me do most of the work. I want you to focus on getting Isabella to safety.”

*

Florence hadn’t thought she would see the camp so soon again. Her brief stay in the forest had given her new strength. The people in the camp had, apparently, regained their eyesight because they were running from tent to tent, shouting orders in both English and Italian.

“They seem upset.” When Florence turned to Lisa, she found she was smiling. “We must have made quite the impression on them.”

“Do you just want to walk in there and get Isabella out?” Nora wanted to know.

“Yes, along those lines,” Florence nodded. “We don’t have time for an elaborate plan.” She looked at the sky again. “We don’t have much time until the execution.”

“Do you think they’ll still go through with it?” Nora asked. “Don’t you think their top priority will be to catch you?”

“Of course they’ll go through with it. They can’t be caught showing weakness now.”

“Then we should better hurry,” Lisa pushed them. “Do you know how and when they will do it?”

“They will hang her,” Florence answered quickly before she could think about it for too long, “but I don’t know when they will do it.”

“Traditionally, they hang you on a tree, don’t they?” Lisa pointed out.

“The only trees around here are in the forest, do you really think they’ll go near it?” Nora asked.

“Why do you think that? They don’t think they have anything to fear from it,” Florence said slowly. “As I see it, we have two options here. Either we wait until dusk and see what happens or we attack now and try to get Isabella out of there. Both are dangerous. If we try to rescue Isabella now, we might fail. I don’t even know where she is because they brought her to a different tent. But if we wait until dusk and can’t find out where the execution takes place, we might be too late to rescue her.”

“We should wait and keep an eye on the camp,” Lisa said immediately. “Storming into the camp would be too dangerous.”

“So we wait here to see what happens?” Nora clarified. “Shouldn’t we split up then? So we can watch more of the camp?”

“That’s a good idea,” Florence mumbled, lost in thought. She was trying to come up with a plan to save Isabella without endangering Nora and Lisa. “Lisa, I want you to walk about one hundred metres to our right and Lisa, you do the same on our left. When you see Isabella or notice that something is going on, you come running right away. If you need me, I’ll come and get you.”

The others nodded and moved away to their allocated positions. Florence remained kneeling between the trees, intently staring at the camp, hoping for any sign of Isabella. While she observed the ongoings, she noticed that the hunters were undergoing some kind of preparation. They were carrying big boxes and guns and Florence realised that they were preparing an attack, most likely on the forest and her home. It was then that she realised they couldn’t stay here and as soon as she had rescued Isabella, she would get the girls and leave for a safe place further up north.

From her vantage point, she couldn’t see further inside the camp, but hoped that Nora and Lisa were in a position to see what went on, especially near the tent where she had been kept. Now the sun was sinking lower quickly and Florence began to feel nervous. She was on the verge of visiting either Lisa or Nora when Nora appeared next to her.

“They are bringing Isabella to the forest over there.” She pointed over her shoulder. “Isabella isn’t struggling or resisting, so it won’t take them long to hang her. We should hurry if you want to save her.”

Florence’s heart began to race. If she made a mistake now, Isabella’s life was over. And she would never be able to forgive herself for that.

“Let’s hurry then,” she said determinately. “Go get Lisa and then meet be back there.”

She made off into the direction Nora had come from. She didn’t dare to use magic, at least not yet, because she knew that the hunters had machines which could detect any unusual activities. It wasn’t long before she spotted a group of people standing at the edge of the forest. There was a tree which stood a few feet away from the rest, with long, thick branches. The hangman had already tied a rope to one of them and the mayor was saying a few last words. Florence still was too far away to hear what he was saying, so she stepped out of the forest and jogged along its edge, not caring who could see her. Then Nora and Lisa were at her side and together they sprinted towards the tree and Isabella’s rescue.

Victoria was the first one who saw them coming. She drew her gun without hesitation and shouted a warning. The American was the second one to raise his weapon and he fired at them at once. Florence was able to dodge the bullet, but she ordered Nora and Lisa to stop by holding out her arm.

“Give us Isabella and you will never see us again,” she shouted across the distance still between them.

“Give me back my daughter and you can have the traitor,” the mayor shouted back.

Florence was grateful when Nora didn’t start to argue that she wanted to go back to her father so Isabella would be saved. She also didn’t waste any time arguing with the mayor, but instead waved her hand and both guns were flung into the air and dropped 20 feet away. The other people around the tree drew their guns in response and opened fire.

This time, it wasn’t Florence who stopped the attack, but Lisa. She raised both hands and stopped the bullets in mid-air.

“Go get her,” she shouted a Florence and Nora.

“Hang her,” the mayor shouted at the same time.

The noose was already around Isabella’s neck and the hangman pulled the rope, so Isabella’s feet were lifted off the ground. Now Isabella began to struggle, but she couldn’t even lift her hands to relieve the pressure on her throat because her hands were tied behind her back. Florence rushed forward, closely followed by Nora. The men opened fire again, but thanks to Lisa’s spell, the bullets were stopped shortly outside of the barrels.

Nora reached the tree before Florence did and the men immediately grabbed her and tried to restrain her, but Florence pushed them aside with a spell. The hangman let go of the rope and Isabella fell to the ground. Florence was at her side immediately, loosening the rope and kissing her cheeks.

“It will be all right,” she whispered, “I’m here now, it’ll be all right.”

Isabella choked and spat, but still managed a smile.

“You need to get up, we need to go,” Florence urged her.

“Florence!” Nora shouted, panic in her voice.

Florence whipped around. The mayor had caught Nora and was pulling her away towards the camp.

Florence’s voice echoed back from the forest so loudly that everyone around her covered their ears. “Let her go.”

The mayor, who had been thrown of track, didn’t listen to her but continued on his path, dragging his daughter behind him.

Florence turned to Isabella and cupped her cheek with one hand. “Run to the forest as fast as you can. It will protect you.”

Isabella did as she was told and Florence rushed to Nora’s aide. The men were still recovering from the shock of Florence’s loud voice and were unable to stop her. Due to his girth, the mayor couldn’t move quickly and Florence soon reached him.

“Get away from me, you witch,” the mayor shrieked. “You’re not going to take my daughter away from me a second time.”

Florence didn’t bother arguing with the mayor. Instead, she raised a hand and made a sweeping gesture with it. The mayor let go of Nora and fell to his knees, clutching his throat. He was choking and spitting and then he broke down completely and was dead.

Florence reached out a hand to Nora. “Come quickly, we need to leave.”

Nora took Florence’s hand and together they ran towards the forest where Lisa and Isabella were waiting for them.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Florence prepares Isabella for a trip they will take to get away from the witch hunters.

“And this is why we need to leave this night,” Florence finished telling the girls. “Please bring only the things you absolutely need. Where we’re going there’s going to be everything a witch needs.”

The girls hurried off to pack their bags and Isabella walked over to talk to Florence.

“I have a quick question before we leave,” she opened, feeling nervous about asking Florence what she was about to ask her. “What about Roberto and Laura? They defended us during the trial and I’m scared that something bad will happen to them now that we’ve escaped.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about them,” Florence said with a shrug. “After all, they didn’t violate any of your rules. And they didn’t help you escape.”

“You’re probably right,” Isabella sighed, “but I can’t help worrying about them.”

Florence cupped Isabella’s cheek with one hand and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Don’t worry about them,” she whispered, “they’re going to be all right.” Then she turned serious. “Do you want to come with us, Isabella? I know that you are always on the fence about leaving everything behind, but I don’t think it would be wise of you to return to the witch hunters.”

“Of course I’ll come with you,” Isabella agreed. “As scared as I was of leaving my old life behind, this is nothing compared to how scared I am of leaving you.”

“Isabella Summers, do you have a crush on me?” Florence asked teasingly.

“Yes, I do,” Isabella told Florence with a smile, “but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

“Well, then I recommend that you stay as close to me as you can at all times.” Florence kissed her again, this time more passionately.

Isabella blushed. “So where is this place we’re going to? I never was good at geography.”

“I can show you,” Florence said excitedly. “Come with me.”

She took Isabella by the hand and led her to her library. Isabella hadn’t seen this room yet. She looked around with interest. The floor was covered in books, parchment rolls, and candle stumps. Florence walked directly to a globe in front of one of the large windows.

“We’re here.” She pointed at Italy on the upper half of the globe, “but you know that already.”

Isabella joined Florence at the window and regarded the globe with interest. It was old and didn’t show borders the way they divided countries today.

“And we’re going to go here.” Florence pointed to a place somewhere in the north of Norway or Sweden, Isabella couldn’t quite tell.

“But how are we going to get there?” she asked, staring at the long distance.

“The traditional way.” Florence smiled at her. “You know, on a broomstick.”

“No way.” Isabella’s mouth fell open. “I had no idea that witches really use broomsticks. I thought this was some sort of legend.”

“It’s astonishing how little you know about us.” Florence shook her head in amazement.

“You can’t blame me,” Isabella shrugged. “Most of what they teach us about witches is crap.”

“Fair enough,” Florence admitted. “From now on, you will learn a lot about witches then. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Isabella told her. “I’m very eager to learn about potions.”

“I can teach you as soon as we’re save,” Florence promised.

Isabella didn’t want to think too much about leaving her old life behind. Her colleagues had tried to execute her, but she still felt a connection to them. She had worked in this job for over ten years. Now she was about to join the other side. Most of her life she had spent hunting and killing witches, now she was about to become one herself.

“I know you have many questions,” Florence said carefully. “They will be answered in time, rest assured.”

“I’m just a bit nervous,” Isabella told her honestly. “I mean, I don’t know where we’re going, I don’t know who will be there, I don’t know what they’ll do to a witch hunter like me. Or rather a killer,” she corrected herself.

“They won’t do anything to you,” Florence assured her. “You’re with me. We’re together now. If they hurt you, they also hurt me and no one wants that.”

“So where _are_ we’re going?” Isabella asked, distracting herself from Florence’s hint that they were a couple.

“We are going to our hiding place in the north,” Florence explained. “There are several safe places around the world, which we have managed to keep a secret up until now. I chose the one in the north because it’ll be winter soon and everyone who is trying to follow us will have difficulties doing so.”

“Where are the other hiding places?” Isabella asked eagerly.

“There is one in each cardinal direction,” Florence answered, “but the locations are kept secret, even from most of the witches. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course,” Isabella nodded.

“But there is something else that is worrying you, isn’t there?” Florence pressed.

“Yes,” Isabella admitted. “I’m not a witch, I can’t fly.”

“Oh, Isabella.” Florence began to laugh. “You don’t have to be a witch to fly. I told you before, not many people are born a witch. And it’s not difficult. I can teach you in five minutes.”

Convinced by Florence’s assurance, Isabella felt less nervous about the trip. Still, she had no idea how they were going to live in the snow and cold; she didn’t even have time to go back home and get clothes.

“Isabella,” Florence said with mock-warning in her voice. “I can see that you’re still worrying and I want you to stop that now.”

Isabella opened her mouth to protest, but Florence stopped her before she could speak.

“You’re alive, Isabella,” she told her, a smile on her face. “You are finally free and everyone will live.”

“Not everyone.”

There was something else which was nagging at the back of her mind. Florence had used magic to kill a man and had therefore proven every anti-witch propaganda to be right.

“How do you mean?” Florence asked.

“Well, you killed the mayor,” Isabella pointed out, trying to sound as non-confrontational as possible.

“I did it to save Nora, but you know that, don’t you? It was the only possibility to get out of this situation.”

“Yes,” Isabella nodded, “but don’t you think that they now have a reason to hunt you down? You did what they expect witches to do.”

“Isabella,” Florence said slowly, “you do know that I’m not just killing people for the fun of it. I needed to do it to save Nora.”

“I know, I know, I just need to get used to it.”

“But you never had troubles understanding why people kill witches?”

“I don’t know, it’s probably … we thought we were doing the right thing.”

“I guess you will need some time to unlearn why they have taught you,” Florence said softly.

Isabella had never seen it like this. “I hope I can,” she mumbled. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You won’t.” Florence pulled her into a hug. “Now, please, stop worrying. I know something that will distract you. I’m going to teach you how to ride a broom.”

If Florence wanted her to stop worrying, she hadn’t chosen the right thing to distract her. Hovering above the ground on a thin stick didn’t help her to forget that she wasn’t a witch. Isabella never had been good with heights and the thought of relying on a household appliance to stay in the air stressed her.

But Florence introduced her slowly to this new activity. First, she led her to the cellar where the brooms were kept. Isabella could choose whichever broom she liked, which took her quite some time because most of them looked wonky and not as if they could fly on their own, let alone carry an adult woman. In the end, she chose a long, dark-brown broom whose bristles didn’t look as dishevelled as the others. Florence grabbed the first broom she saw and they walked to the lawn in front of the house.

The lawn was busy with girls running to and fro, carrying bags and books. Over this scene, the sun was setting. Florence walked with her to the edge of the forest and told her to mount the broom. Isabella did so and Florence mirrored her movements.

“You need to trust the broom,” Florence told her. “It’s like a horse; it can feel when you don’t want to be on it or if you’re scared.”

“Great,” Isabella mumbled.

Florence hadn’t heard her. “The most important thing is the kick-off. You don’t want to push off too hard because then you’ll gain too much speed too quickly. Then again, if you don’t use _enough_ force, you won’t take off at all and you’ll hop around on the ground, looking like an idiot. Let me show you.”

Isabella watched as Florence bent her knees and pushed herself off the ground. She climbed high quickly; the wind caught in her hair and tore at it, but she didn’t mind. Isabella watched as Florence showed off complicated figures and barrel rolls. Then she landed again next to Isabella.

“Of course I don’t expect you to do the same things I did now, but a simple kick-off and landing will be enough.”

Isabella swallowed hard. She tried to repeat the same movements Florence had done earlier, but the broom didn’t even hover.

“You need to trust the broom,” Florence said to her. “It can feel that you’re scared.”

“Of course I’m scared,” Isabella snapped impatiently.

Florence dismounted her broom and walked over to Isabella. She told her to make room and sat down in front of her.

“It’s always easier to do it together with someone the first time. Just hold on.”

Isabella put her arms around Florence and held on. Florence pushed off the ground and then they were in the air. Isabella panicked as the ground vanished beneath her feet. She dug her nails into Florence’s dress and closed her eyes.

Florence softly touched a hand to hers. “Relax, Isa,” she whispered. “I’m here, nothing can happen to you.”

Isabella tried to relax, but found herself unable to. Florence landed and stroked Isabella’s hand lightly.

“I will not let you go, you won’t fall,” she said calmly.

“I know, I’m sorry, I just really hate heights.”

“I will kiss you if you manage to fly for a couple of minutes,” Florence promised her.

Convinced by this incentive, Isabella nodded. “Let’s do this then.”

“Good girl.”

Florence kicked off again and this time Isabella tried to relax every muscle in her body. Her legs still cramped as she tried to stay on the thin broomstick, but as Florence drew circles around the house, she realised that she couldn’t fall, even if she shifted around.

“See?” Florence shouted from the front. “It’s not as bad as you had expected, is it?”

Isabella didn’t say anything but looked down instead. They were hovering above the rooftop and the height wasn’t as bad as Isabella had expected. To fly to the north, they would have to climb higher, but she was still convinced that she could take it.

Immediately after they had landed, Florence turned around and kissed Isabella.

“Well down,” she praised her. “Now go on your own.”

Isabella still struggled with the take-off, but after the third try she managed to hover above the ground for a couple of seconds, but was so surprised by this that she came down right away.

Florence clapped her hands together excitedly. “We’re getting there. By the time we’ll leave, you’ll be excellent at this.”

Isabella couldn’t help but smile at this overstatement. Still, she tried her best the next time and managed to hover higher and longer.

“Do you think you can fly a small circle this time?”

“I can try,” Isabella nodded.

She kicked off again and tried to keep her balance while trying to figure out how to make her broom go forward.

“Just lean forward a bit, but not too much,” Florence told her.

Isabella did as she was told and her broom moved forward a bit. When she leaned forward and to the side, it flew a small circle.

“You’re a natural,” Florence shouted from the ground.

*

The girls were either sitting or standing in front of the house. It was a starry night, and when Isabella looked up, she could see shooting stars. The house was completely dark and the only light came from a torch in Florence’s hand. She had told them earlier that they had to be careful now so the witch hunters wouldn’t get to them before they could make their escape.

“I know that flying at night isn’t ideal, but this is how we’re going to travel,” Florence told them. “We will fly at night and rest during the day. This way, we hopefully won’t be spotted by anyone. I will carry the torch in front, so just follow the light and you won’t get lost. We’ll be flying slowly since there are many of us who have never been on a broomstick before.”

Some of the girls shifted around nervously. Isabella knew how they felt. She didn’t want to fly in the middle of the night when she couldn’t see her hand in front of her eyes. Then again, it might be easier to fly when she couldn’t see the ground.

“If you’re sure you haven’t forgotten anything,” Florence continued, “then we should leave now.”

Together with the others, Isabella mounted her broom and pushed off the ground. It was easier to fly with other people around her and they didn’t fly high, so she soon felt at ease. Following Florence’s light, Isabella started her journey into the north.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter. I want to thank all you of for reading it and bearing with me whenever I uploaded a chapter too late. I know that not everything is tied up (I haven't written anything about Laura and Roberto or what happens with the Americans) because I'm planning to write another part to this story sometime later this year. I hope you all don't mind waiting for a bit to learn what happens next.
> 
> Again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you've enjoyed this story xx


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